Introduction
Despite the fact that the pandemic became a means of organizing people from different nations into groups and helping them attain mutual help, the actual situation is much more complex. This happens because of the growing tensions that destabilize the social concord and force individuals to face a variety of social inequalities and cultural issues (Vieira et al., 2020). The fact that borders are still being closed down paves the way for detailed critical scrutiny that eventually reinforces the values behind the lockdowns. More to say, government interventions and political tensions also became rather usual for European countries because of the pandemic affecting the democratic freedoms available to citizens (Alifano et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the presence of political background does not represent an obstacle for most of the European countries since they have to unite to overcome the negative influence of the pandemic and create a much more positive environment.
Societal Concord
When it comes down to society, the essential point that has to be addressed is the existence of a societal concord that may also be perceived as the feeling of solidarity shared by European citizens. In the future, people living in Europe are going to remember the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the conditions that allowed them to bypass their prejudices and protect societal health instead of pursuing individual objectives (Pachetti et al., 2020). Such international concord is essential because it shows that a common threat can be seen as a means of battling the crisis and generating much more positive conditions for people to live and prosper. The pandemic is going to become a powerful reminder reinforcing the significance of altruistic support (Sobande, 2020). Ultimately, the future of European countries in the post-Covid-19 era depends on the ability of individuals to cooperate.
Another element of societal concord is the existence of intergenerational problems that have been resolved throughout the toughest points of the current pandemic. Even though most of the problems related to Covid-19 are not over, it should be noted that more societal arrangements are going to appear, promoting nuclear families, care for the elderly, and other encouraging practices (Sobande, 2020). The list of active duties and responsibilities is going to be extended by the growing attention span of European citizens and their attitudes toward minority populations or individuals that have trouble caring for themselves. The far-reaching effects of societal concord are going to improve communal well-being and bring numerous economies back to life (Cauchemez et al., 2020). More attention will be paid to how various individuals respond to the pandemic-related stress with the intention of recognizing the most prominent areas of research.
Social Inequalities
The second area of change that cannot be ignored when pondering upon the role of the Covid-19 pandemic and its relation to the future of European countries is the advent of multiple social inequalities. The problem becomes even bigger because numerous social inequalities have intensified over the past year and developed into a series of mini-crises affecting policymaking and deploying economic turmoil (Pachetti et al., 2020). Despite the fact that many countries were rationally swift when it came to short-term corrections, governmental income support seems to be an insufficient measure to cover the amplified influence of the pandemic. The number of qualified workers continues to decrease as well, which shows that the varied financial conditions across European countries are not as welcoming as expected. In the future, the state of the economy will have to be researched in detail in order not to aggravate the situation for those people who have already been affected by social inequalities prior to the pandemic.
When looking into the future of Europe during the post-Covid-19 crisis, it should also be vital to consider the implications of the global health problem for the job market and the longitudinal impact of the pandemic. For example, more attention will have to be paid to employee productivity and inequality under the condition where digitalization continually reinforces investments and collaboration (Vieira et al., 2020). The changing conditions of employment and workplace requirements provide numerous new opportunities to those who have been marginalized before the pandemic. The poor and the homeless are not going to disappear from the map as well, especially with the pandemic forcing quite a few businesses to close down completely (Cauchemez et al., 2020). To move the European society forward, researchers might focus on the notions of guaranteed minimum wage and the most common problems met by employees when going through the pandemic.
Culture and Quality of Life
The fact that people across the globe are going to live with Covid-19 for a long time also shows that individual lifestyles and communal cultures are going to be reshaped over the next few years. The key problem that is going to transpire in the future is the incompatibility of cultural and individual predilections that could become the vital reason for large-scale demonstrations (Cauchemez et al., 2020). It was not easy to reach an agreement regarding certain cultural values and questions prior to the pandemic, and in the future, it is going to become even harder. In the form of a preventive measure, the leaders of key European countries could dwell on the potential scenarios of Covid-19 spreading and what could be done with it. Even if there is going to be an infection-free European society in the future, improved quality of life will be achieved through strict measures and data-driven expert recommendations.
The fact that the virus still exists shows that individual consumption and interaction habits are going to change under pressure created by the pandemic. The same may be said about ethnic elements that are going to play an even bigger role among European communities where cultures are central. With eating practices altering due to the restrictions pushed due to Covid-19, the notion and the limits of a sustainable lifestyle have changed in order to allow for an ethical outlook on how individuals cope with the quarantine (Pachetti et al., 2020). The popularity of eco-friendly products is going to continue to grow while the ratings of the use of public transport will steadily decline over the course of the next year or two. The questions of civic culture and social responsibility will no longer represent an unsolvable enigma, as all European nations are going to pass the pandemic test and coordinate activities more thoroughly.
Conclusion
Even though it may look like the general outcomes on the post-pandemic European community are mostly negative, there are quite a few observations that prove otherwise. The Covid-19 pandemic is an actual crisis that has affected people all across the globe, but the current findings suggest that the future looks bright enough. European community came a long way from extreme pandemic-driven restrictions to resolving some of the societal and economic challenges. In the future, European leaders should be expected to engage in more practical activities and overcome the limitations instigated by Covid-19. The three paths of post-Covid-19 development described by the author represent only a small part of the potential influence caused by the coronavirus crisis. Accordingly, European leaders should work together in order to understand the diversity of governments and collaborate effectively.
References
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Cauchemez, S., Kiem, C. T., Paireau, J., Rolland, P., & Fontanet, A. (2020). Lockdown impact on COVID-19 epidemics in regions across metropolitan France. The Lancet, 396(10257), 1068-1069.
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