All lessons focus on the situation in European Small States involved in this Erasmus+ project. These are, in alphabetical order: Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, and San Marino.

Country reports for this lesson were presented at the Erasmus+ meeting on 23 April 2021 in Estonia (virtual format).

... let us see if you have ever reflected about the content of this lesson. So we start with a few introductory questions. You will receive answers as the course progresses.

In the following chapters we will go into some aspects of European small states in more detail. Please note that you will find more details in other lessons.

You can learn more about:

• Characteristics of the governance systems
• Governance and health care system
• Governance of Covid-19

At the end of this lesson, we also offer numerous links which you are welcome to select to deepen your knowledge. There you will also find presentations on all our small states with additional in-depth information regarding this lesson.

Despite the fact that the nine European small states in consideration here constitute a rather small sample, we find quite a variety of different political regimes and an even more colourful bouquet of legal designs regarding legislative and executive. Six of the nine small states are generally considered to be parliamentary democracies. But even in this group of states there are some notable differences: In Liechtenstein for example, members of the government cannot be member of parliament (MP) at the same time, while in Malta members of the government even have to be MP. In three states (Liechtenstein, Andorra and Luxembourg), a hereditary prince  is the head of state, or – in the case of Andorra – the two co-princes. Cyprus, in turn, is a presidential republic, where the head of state (who, at the same time, is the head of the government) is elected by the people for a five-year term. Indeed, Cyprus is currently the only EU member state with a full presidential system of government.

Table: Political regime and head of state in European small states

Each and every one of the nine states has a parliament, elected by the people for either a 4- or a 5-year-term. The smallest parliament is the Landtag of Liechtenstein (25 MP), while Estonia – the largest of the nine small states – also has the largest parliament: The Riigikogu counts 101 MP.

The smallest government in size is again the Regierung of Liechtenstein: It consists of a Regierungschef (more or less equivalent to a prime minster) and four additional members of the government. Liechtenstein's government is by far the smallest of the nine states: The next larger government is the one of San Marino with 10 ministers. The Gvern ta' Malta (government of Malta) has 19 ministers and a prime minster.

Most states have a coalition government at the time of creating this website. Only in Cyprus and Malta does one party govern alone.

Table: Mode and Size of Government in European Small States (PM = Prime Minster; P = President)

In all nine states, health care is governed centrally. Only in Estonia the local governments assist in providing health care services. Quite often, there is a division of policy-making and implementation: In Andorra, Iceland, Malta, Montenegro, Luxembourg and Cyprus the Ministries of Health are separate.

In almost all of the countries, the responsible ministry develops the health policy, while the government agencies implement the policy and provide services. In Malta the ministry of health has both a policy-making and implementation role through different boards, councils and committees.

There is a wide national health coverage in all countries covering 83% to 100% of the population. Health insurance is compulsory in Liechtenstein and Montenegro. In Andorra and Estonia, the availability of health insurance is related to the employment status. Health care agreements with neighbouring countries have been established in San Marino, Liechtenstein and Andorra due to only one national hospital.

The Covid-19 pandemic did not spare the small states. Comparing national figures is not always an easy task, because of differing data bases and measurement methods. There is at least some certainty about the course of the pandemic: Iceland, for example, was hit early and (pretty) hard by a first wave in spring 2020, while Estonia had basically just one wave in autumn/winter 2020. Moreover, the second wave of the pandemic was significantly more intense than the first wave in San Marino, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta, Luxembourg, and Montenegro.

Generally, the testing capacity improved during the 2nd phase. Malta began systematic contact tracing right after the first cases were registered. San Marino initially had low testing capacity due to a lack of autonomous swab analysis. In May 2020, however, the hospital laboratory acquired the needed skills. In Iceland and Estonia, some testing support came from private companies.

The governance of Covid-19 has mainly relied on the existing governance structure. In San Marino, Andorra, Montenegro and Estonia a special commissioner, a Covid-19 office or a new coordination or advisory body were created. Wide cooperation between the government, experts and the civil society are reported from San Marino and Malta.

Table: Politics or expertise led process in European small states

The whole process of coping with the pandemic has become more political with time in Luxembourg, Montenegro (change of government), Malta, and Estonia – particularly after the 1st wave. At international level, cooperation was mostly limited to border management, procurement of vaccines and economic support (EU). Because of the smallness of the countries, particularly the very small ones often relied on resources and expertise of larger, neighbouring countries. Liechtenstein, for example, relied heavily on the scientific expertise of Switzerland. Indeed, the daily Covid-19 statistics of Liechtenstein were usually issued by the Swiss health authorities (BAG).

The key debates during the pandemic revolved around the following issues:

• Individual freedoms versus strict measures to tackle the virus (San Marino, Estonia)
• Exceptions for the church (Montenegro, Cyprus)
• Effectiveness, fairness and proportionality of measures for private companies and entrepreneurs (San Marino, Malta, Cyprus, Estonia
• Access to health care for the more vulnerable (e.g., asylum seekers, migrants, non-citizens).

Although considered by many as a potential threat to the government and, indeed, to democratic structures at the beginning of the pandemic, the Covid-19 crisis did not lead to a dramatic increase of political distrust. Quite to the contrary, trust in the government even increased in Liechtenstein, Andorra and Iceland. As a matter of fact, the governing parties actually gained in electoral strength in Liechtenstein.

The measures undertaken were quite different in nature and also in extent: Some states had a full lockdown with curfews (San Marino, Andorra, Montenegro, Cyprus), while other states had a less strict lockdown (Estonia, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Malta, Luxembourg). Most states imposed a stricter lockdown during the first wave than during the second wave, but there are also exceptions to that.

Schools were closed for a period of time, and distant learning was applied in San Marino, Andorra, Malta, Montenegro, Cyprus, Estonia. Universities in turn went online in all nine countries. In Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, schooling was restricted as little as possible (only a few weeks). Comprehensive hygiene and safety concepts were introduced everywhere. In all countries some level of e-learning was used. A digitalization initiative was put forward in Liechtenstein: believe it or not, but all Liechtenstein pupils received a tablet! Online learning, however, wasn't without problems: e.g. there were Internet connectivity related issues reported from both San Marino and Montenegro; and there were differences of available IT infrastructure between private and public schools in Cyprus.

Shortly after the first Covid-19 wave hit Europe in winter/spring 2020, travel restrictions were imposed all over the world. Some of the small states closed their borders almost completely, like Montenegro and Malta. Other states – mostly states that rely heavily on cross-border commuters and/or that are closely linked to a neighbouring country – only partially banned entry into their country. Liechtenstein for example, imposed no travel restrictions towards Switzerland. But the borders to neighbouring Austria had been closed during the first wave. Luxembourg, in turn, worked out special agreements for the many cross-border workers. Iceland did not impose an entry ban, but made a 14-days quarantine mandatory after entering the country.

Economic support measures in most states were a mixture of government subsidies, salary support, tax reliefs, and economic stimulus packages. In Montenegro, the economy faced slowdown already prior to the pandemic, while the economy in Liechtenstein has remained surprisingly resistant.

The EU member states among the nine small states in consideration (Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg, Estonia) took part in the EU joint procurement scheme. Initial roll out was comparably slow, but at some point gained momentum. The other states were either integrated into the vaccination system of a neighbouring country (Liechtenstein, San Marino, Andorra), or made an agreement with other states, agencies or pharmaceutical companies (Iceland and Montenegro).

From all we know, the willingness to get a vaccine differs from country to country. Naturally, the exact number is very hard to tell, but in some countries up to 50% of the population might not be willing to get vaccinated. In other countries this number is presumably less (maybe as low as 25%), but in general, there is a significant minority of the population that is rather sceptical towards vaccination.

Table: Cumulative vaccination in European small states (as of 7 June 2021)

Source: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL

The majority of the small European states observed have a parliamentary democracy system of government. Only Liechtenstein, Andorra and Luxembourg deviate from this as a Constitutional Principality or Grand Duchy. The governments show a wide gap in the number of members, ranging from 5 to 20 members. In 2020 and 2021, governments and parliaments were heavily involved in Covid-19 management. Here, too, clear differences can be observed.

To sum it up, we can say that a lack of preparedness for a pandemic crisis management is evident in all states is evident, but at the same time a high level of flexibility and responsiveness can be observed in several if not all countries (e.g. Andorra, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Luxembourg, Estonia).

An increasing level of digitalisation as a result of the pandemic is obvious in San Marino and Andorra, but also in other countries. The pandemic has often further highlighted already existing vulnerabilities. The pandemic once again demonstrated the dependence of many small states of larger neighbouring states and (often) also on cross-border workers. If we take a closer look though, the economic dependence is often only in a few sectors (service sector, tourism).

Okay. Then let's see what you could remember from this lesson. Please tick the appropriate answer and you will see whether you are right or wrong.

Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein
Government of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein Institute
Law Gazette