To better understand how the pandemic has so far affected Europe’s democracies, the
European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) has analysed 19 succinct national perspectives. We
asked our EPIN partners: what are the effects of different crisis rules or procedures on the
democratic character of national governance?
This exercise has shown that while in some member states the democratic institutions and
electoral processes have proved robust and flexible, outstanding democratic issues across all
member states are: an overly powerful executive, limited checks on government, and the side-
lining of parliaments. Trust, or the lack of it, in the respective political elites is a particularly
divisive issue.