THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC IN EUROPE: CHALLENGES AND THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
Authors:   State Research Institution «Encyclopedia Press», Kyiv, Ukraine, Kyrydon Alla , Kosjak Svitlana ,   Cherkasy Institute of Fire Safety named after Chornobyl Heroes  of National University of Civil Defence of Ukraine, Troyan Serhiy ,   National Aviation University, Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: January 2023

The purpose of the article is violated in the studied and generalization of the main aspects of the policy of the European state, on the eve of the countries of the European Union, regarding countering the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the study of the features and effectiveness of the Swedish model to prevent similar threats in the future. The scientific novelty of the study is due to the seriousness of the challenges and the threat of a universal nature both for Europe and for the modern globalized and interdependent world. This is especially important given the global scale and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic that humanity has faced in early 2020. The world community, including all its regional segments, faced an unprecedented challenge of chronic disease, which belongs to asymmetric shocks that begin with a small shock and then quickly cover the whole world. Conclusions. The outbreak of the coronavirus disease at the beginning of 2020 came as a surprise to the whole world. The World Health Organization belatedly, but in March 2020, announced the pandemic and the need for a serious and urgent fight against it. The first patients with Covid-19 in European countries appeared in January 2020. At the same time, the first deaths from the coronavirus disease were recorded in Europe. Already in the first months of the pandemic, Italy, Spain, and France faced its severe consequences, including a large number of deaths. Most European countries, including Ukraine, have introduced strict restrictive measures, including mass self-isolation, restrictions on economic and trade activities, termination of the educational process with its subsequent transfer to distance education, etc. Almost all available resources of the national health care systems were mobilized to fight the pandemic. Sweden’s public policy to combat the spread of the pandemic was outstanding in the European democratic space. The Swedish model of public policy to combat the Covid-19 pandemic was based on the principle of public responsibility and reliance on a highly developed national health care system. The main place in the approach of the Swedish government to this problem was taken by the course on the development of collective immunity. The principle of voluntariness, which did not involve the introduction of a nationwide quarantine, played an important role. At the initial stage) the restrictive measures in Sweden were mild, were mainly of a recommendatory nature, and were based on the principle of situational response. The Swedish government did not introduce strict measures and restrictions for the economy, businesses and institutions were recommended to switch to remote work. Sweden was the only country in the European Union that did not introduce a lockdown at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe. In addition, the need to observe social distance, personal hygiene, and help the elderly was emphasized. The decline in economic and business activity in general was smaller in Sweden than in other European Union countries. At the same time, under the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the average annual mortality rates have increased significantly. In general, the generalization of the experience and results of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the countries of the European Union, the study of the effectiveness of the features of the Swedish model of combating the coronavirus disease should contribute to greater resilience of the states and societies of Europe in the face of modern threats and challenges of the globalized world.