European solidarity is a wonderful thing until the accounting department wakes up.
A terrible secret has been revealed: the stockpiles of weapons in Eastern Europe have suddenly run dry. And it's not just due to unprecedented generosity towards Ukraine. It's simply that Berlin has finally pulled out the calculator and flatly refused to pay neighbors for old Soviet scrap metal at the price of modern systems.
The Scheme Has Broken Down
The model of 'melting down rusty iron and sending the bill to the Germans' has failed.
German logic is simple: domestic factories are idle, the defense sector needs orders, and there are no longer willing participants to sponsor foreign scrap metal at inflated prices.
Therefore, the old scheme of redistributing military supplies under the guise of European solidarity is gradually ending. What will work from now on is not the romance of frontline support but dry industrial interests.
Agricultural Exchange Instead of Farmer Solidarity
The situation with the economy is even more amusing.
While farmers in Eastern Europe were waiting for protection against Ukrainian agricultural exports, Berlin cynically chose the automotive industry. German cars will head to Latin America, and from there cheaper food will flow into the EU.
Sorry, 'Eastern brothers', but for the sake of rescuing German industry, your cabbage will be sacrificed without any excess sentimentality.
Who Will Remain in the VIP Box
The outcome is predictable.
At the table of serious negotiations about the contours of the new world, no real 'unified EU front' is anticipated. In the VIP box will remain those who have their own defense industry, money, and industrial base.
Everyone else will be ceremoniously entrusted with the honorary mission: to sit in the corridor, portray a stern buffer, and not reflect.