By LORNE COOK

Associated Press

As the coronavirus claims lives, ruins livelihoods and wreaks economic havoc, tensions are rising between European Union countries over how best to respond as the pandemic overwhelms some member nations, once more raising troubling questions about the EU’s ability to stand united in times of crisis.

Almost 16,000 people infected with the virus have died in Europe. Over a quarter of a million had tested positive, as of Friday. Countries hit especially hard, like Italy and Spain, are imploring their partners to do more, particularly on the economic front, and to do it now.

“The consequences of COVID-19 should be faced not in the coming months but tomorrow morning,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said after a summit of EU leaders late Thursday, according to Italian media.

“We are facing the worst crisis of our generation. The future of the European project is at stake. We have to choose between a coordinated and supportive EU and individualism,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted Friday. “We call for a common response to this emergency. Let’s ensure a fair recovery.”

Much as mass migration to Europe in recent years left Italy and Greece feeling abandoned by EU countries that weren’t inundated with new arrivals, the coronavirus rift has exposed an old north-south divide. Often, it’s about comparative wealth and the way European money is used.

In this case, an alliance of nine countries — among them Italy, Spain and France — want to throw all the EU’s economic might into fighting the virus and damage from the disruption it’s caused as soon as possible. But nations like Germany and the Netherlands want to keep a little powder dry, to have something in reserve should things get even worse.

The Netherlands insists that the best way to proceed is through a careful analysis of the virus threat and when it might subside, as well as recommendations on how to move forward in terms of lifting health restrictions and spurring economic recovery.