EU is flagging at this time of need

WHATEVER happened to the EU, the body that was going to back Ireland to the hilt come hell or high water after Brexit?

It appears the Brussels bureaucrats have gone into hiding leaving member states to fend for themselves during what is the worst crisis since WW2.

The response from the EU has been beyond pathetic to the extent that the likes of Italy and Spain are turning to China and Russia for help.

Indeed the Taoiseach rang up Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last Tuesday to thank him for the assistance his country is giving

Ireland in securing medical supplies.

It is notable Leo did not ring Brussels or Berlin where they are penny-pinching instead of sending help.

The EU’S failure is in marked contrast to the way in which it intervened in the internal affairs of Ireland and Greece by imposing crippling austerity on workers after the crash.

All over Italy, local councils are taking down EU emblems in disgust and some have taken to burning the flag and replacing it with Chinese and Russian symbols.

Even the Italian President has removed the EU flag from his office.

So much for European solidarity when thousands of people are dying in Madrid and Lombardi and Brussels is standing idly by while Russia and

China deliver desperately-needed medical supplies.

And it gets worse. Last month Germany blocked a consignment of medical equipment heading for Switzerland and Austria.

As the death toll mounts in Italy, Fabio Rampeli, a member of parliament in Rome, took it upon himself to replace the EU flag with his national emblem in the chamber.

The country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned leaders in Brussels they are making “tragic mistakes” by allowing his citizens to suffer so much.

On Thursday, the head of the European Commission apologised to Italy for a lack of solidarity in tackling the crisis.

Trying to save face, if not lives, President Ursula von der Leyen promised greater help in dealing with the economic fallout. But sadly, as of yesterday, 14,000 Italians won’t be around to see it.

It’s a similar situation in Spain where the EU flags are being taken down because the richer northern countries – including Germany, the Netherlands and Austria – rejected calls for the introduction of joint bonds to help poorer states badly affected by Covid-19.

Even staunch pro-europeans in these nations have lost faith.

But no doubt Brussels will become very much involved in the affairs of these countries, along with Ireland, when it comes round to the coronavirus bills being paid.

BY PAT FLANAGAN