EU must ‘improve' its crisis response

Institutional differences

Kristalina Georgieva joined the European Commission after working for the World Bank for the best part of two decades. She said that she was struck by the cultural differences within the institutions. “I always start by saying ‘what is our objective, what do we want to achieve and how much will it cost.” The Commission, she said, has a “legal mindset”, where the first thought is how a law can be passed.
Georgieva seemed untouched, however, by the perceived slow speed of EU decision-making, saying she considered herself “exceptionally lucky” to have a portfolio where speed is of paramount importance. “I am the commissioner who can make a funding decision within 24 hours, of up to €3 million, when a disaster strikes. I am the commissioner who mobilises the Monitoring and Information Centre [the EU's emergency response unit that co-ordinates voluntary aid] within hours, within minutes of any requests being put to us.”