The war in Ukraine is reshuffling the cards in Europe. Germany no longer sets the tone, the European Parliament only plays an extra role. And the economy? It is being harnessed for the war.
The EU once stood for the promise that there should never again be war in Europe. According to the basic idea of the Coal and Steel Community, the European economy should contribute to eternal peace. Later, the single market and the euro were declared to be the guarantors of a stable peace order.
Unfortunately, this was never really true, as the war in Yugoslavia showed. Germany and France of all countries, who wanted to lead the EU, fuelled the conflict with irreconcilable positions. The euro crisis was no masterpiece of the Peace Union either.
But now it seems that the good old EU and its principles are finally over. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has shown a completely different face. Ten years later, the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2012 is waging all-out economic war against Russia.
Trade, which only yesterday was seen as a harbinger of change and rapprochement, is now being used for punishment and isolation. The open European market that the EU was so proud of is being closed off to harm Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. What was right yesterday is wrong today.
What is striking is how quickly all this is happening. Just four days after the start of the war, the German government in Berlin proclaimed a "turn of the times" that is all about rearmament. At the same time, the last taboos fell in the EU Commission in Brussels.
The former peace union is now sending European-financed weapons to the war zone, it is blocking the Russian "propaganda channels" RT and Sputnik and - another surprise - it is accepting Ukrainian refugees with open arms. Even Poland and Hungary are providing help.
Never before have they acted so united, so resolutely and so quickly, they say proudly in Brussels. Even more than the refugee crisis in 2015 and the Corona crisis, the war in Ukraine is acting as a catalyst for a new EU that defends freedom and democracy in Europe.
France's head of state Emmanuel Macron sees his goal of a "sovereign Europe" with an autonomous defence within reach. Finance politicians hope for unlimited debt for war, climate politicians want to cut off gas and oil from Russia sooner rather than later.
The Eastern Europeans, who have always warned against Russia and are now setting the tone, also feel vindicated. Poland in particular, which yesterday was still pilloried as a "rule of law offender", is profiting from the new situation - and even managing to bring Germany into line.
But all this has as little to do with strategic autonomy and climate protection as it does with freedom and democracy. The EU is more dependent than ever on the US and NATO. The European Parliament now plays only a supporting role; the important decisions are made elsewhere.
The EU Commission has established itself as the new centre of power. Commission head Ursula von der Leyen coordinates Russia policy with the White House in Washington. There is talk not only about sanctions, but also about energy supplies in Europe.
NATO is also profiting from the war. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg doesn't want to lift a finger for Ukraine, but has still turned into Europe's new darling somehow. Stoltenberg sends the Rapid Reaction Force to Eastern Europe, while the EU, as a kind of economic NATO, keeps imposing new sanctions.
In contrast, the previous heavyweights have lost importance. Germany has fallen behind because of its hesitant attitude; Chancellor Olaf Scholz cannot come close to matching the authority of his predecessor Angela Merkel.
The Council, representing the 27 member states, is also no longer playing its usual central role. Council President Charles Michel seems to be hiding in the bunker. The first summit Michel chaired after the start of the war did not produce any major results either.
The "turning point" came only two days after the EU summit - after the USA and Ukraine had put massive pressure on Germany, Italy and other brakemen. In the end, Volodymyr Selenskyj's wishes carried more weight than Olaf Scholz's concerns.
Is this due to the dynamics of the war - or have new, parallel structures formed that overarch the EU institutions and procedures? Is the Union becoming an extended arm of the US and NATO - or can it fight for more autonomy and sovereignty?
It is still too early to answer these questions. What is clear is that the cards are being reshuffled - not only in Ukraine and Russia, but throughout Europe. The EU has not been dealt a strong hand; a clear strategy is not discernible in its game.
As in previous crises, the EU politicians seem like driven men, not self-confident and determined players. That is not surprising. Because they have already lost their most important goal - peace. And unfortunately they have not yet found a better goal.
A new European peace order is not even being discussed in Brussels. Nor about the sense and purpose of economic sanctions. Economy and peace - that is in the past. Today, the EU is waging an economic war that is dividing Europe instead of uniting it.
