"This article provides an assessment of the EU institutions' response to the coronavirus pandemic. By building on a synthesis of the new intergovernmentalism and the emergency politics approach it contends that the effectiveness and legitimacy of de novo bodies like the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have fallen prey to its intergovernmental decision-making structure, whereas the ECB has proven to be more resilient. The European Commission as the traditional engine of European integration was able to fill the gap with its large-scale recovery instrument termed ‘Next Generation EU' and via the creation of a temporary loan-based instrument to support national short-term work schemes (SURE). The historic July 2020 European Council produced policy outputs such as the ‘emergency brake' and the diluted ‘rule of law mechanism' that have the potential to deepen the rift between polarized member states."

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