Not so long ago, the EU was unsure whether or not to bail out one of its own member states – Greece – during the very worst of the financial crisis. In the end, help came with severe austerity measures attached and bred anti-EU sentiment across the country.
It quite rightfully prompted many Brussels-watchers to conclude that the EU is crippled by its own institutional architecture and too turgid to get anything meaningful done. Countless other decisions made in the following years only confirmed that analysis.
Lately, that conclusion is failing to hold water.
Yesterday, EU leaders said that they would spend €500 million of the bloc’s security budget on weapons and supplies for Ukraine. This is the very first time that Brussels will fund arms support for a non-member that is currently under attack.
"I will today propose to use the European Peace Facility for two emergency assistance measures – to finance the supply of lethal material to the Ukrainian army...