Clive Crook writes:  The EU’s current economic policy is indefensible: The EU has chosen to extend the recession by rejecting available remedies. As far as its foreign and security policy goes, this can barely be said to exist. Europe didn’t make Putin the ruthless outlaw he is, but it provoked him while knowing it was unwilling or unable to deal with the consequences.

Germany’s input to these mistakes has been disproportionate. It isn’t just that the size and strength of Germany’s economy have made Berlin the de facto capital of Europe. It’s also that the errors are characteristically German — postwar German, that is. Germany’s mortal dread of inflation and what can follow has paralyzed Europe’s economic policy; and its overweening desire for commerce with Russia and reluctance to confront threats with force has defanged the EU’s security policy.