Presentation Produced each year by two European foundations, the German Friedrich-Ebert­Stiftung and the Spanish Fundación Alternativas, the Report on the State of the European Union is truly special in 2020. The EU had never experienced two major crises at the same time, affecting both health and the economy, and certainly not of the magnitude unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. They come alongside another crisis, this time political, in the shape of Brexit, the first time that a Member State has decided to leave the European Union. This State, the United Kingdom, has extraordinarily relevant geopolitical, economic and cultural power. The negative/ positive effect of Brexit is unquestionable as Mercedes Guinea will explain in detail later on. The explosion of COVID-19 is unprecedented in the lifetime of the European project, or even, we might dare to venture, on the whole planet. The humanitarian consequences have been and continue to be dramatic and societies and Governments have demonstrated that they are ill-prepared to fight them. One million deaths due to the virus has caused great uncertainty, and an economic crisis that forces politicians to decide between health or economics as in the Piped Piper of Hamlin. This is a false dilemma because without health, the economy would collapse. However, some governors were swept along by production requirements, often having to rectify their decisions as new waves of the pandemic hit. This aspect is covered in this Report, although it does not monopolise it. As usual, we are studying the state of the EU from its different perspectives. To start with, we must explore our international context to weigh up this constant aspiration from pro-Europeans that Europe, as such, is a global player. José Enrique de Ayala mentions a theory that is sometimes hastily raised by analysts who pass judgement on the globalisation crisis and the return to political and commercial protectionism. Ayala states that this should not be the EU’s position. It should back multilateralism and fight isolationism. Particularly when facing the hegemonic – and contradictory – pretensions of the administrations in Trump’s America and Xi Jinping’s China. The same applies to powerful neighbours such as Russia or Turkey or on-coming challenges from Africa, with its unstoppable demographic development. The EU should strengthen its still-weak foreign and security policies, eternally hindered by the unanimity rule. This goal is unavoidable and displays its relevance, for example, in the commanding need for the EU to develop a solid policy regarding its southern Mediterranean neighbours. 9