Inertia is isaac newton’s first law of motion. “Every body perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed thereon,” wrote Newton in 1687. It is the first law of the eu, too: things stay as they are, until a big enough force shoves them to change. The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession gave the bloc an almighty push. Over the summer eu leaders agreed to issue collective debt at scale for the first time, to the tune of 750 billion euros ($890 billion). After five days of talks, all 27 heads of government agreed that anyone spending eu money would have to abide by some form of “rule of law” stipulations.
The Economist: Poland and Hungary enjoy a physics lesson courtesy of the EU
An illustration picture shows a drop from a syringe with a flag of the European Union reflected in it on Nov. 17, 2020.
