Europe has plotted an elegant decline that suits the needs of its ageing population, and the Ukraine war cannot be allowed to interfere with that plan.
That is how it seems when EU countries consider circumventing the financial rulebook to offer Ukraine what it needs to overcome waves of drones and break the deadlock on its eastern front.
Leaders in Europe’s capitals, who understandably want to be left alone to tackle mundane, domestic tasks, find themselves confronted by a defining moment in post-second-world-war history. Britain – as much a part of Europe as it was in 1939 – stands with its continental neighbours at the same crossroads.
In one direction is a path leading to the defeat of Vladimir Putin and, among other things, the restoration of peace, a return to stable food and energy prices, calmer financial markets and a possible improvement in living standards for millions of low- and middle-income families.
In the other direction is a future in which Putin secures a large slice of Ukraine and plots his next move knowing that Europe, including Britain, has failed to fully grasp the nature of the threat he poses.
Already, elections are being manipulated and rogue foreign powers supported, undermining efforts to bring settled peace agreements where disputes break out.
For Europe, self-interest should be allied to the charitable urge to prevent Ukrainians from being rounded up and sent to the gulag in their hundreds of thousands.
There is a fatalistic view that says Europe’s destiny lies in the hands of whoever is in the White House. And it is obviously true that Washington matters. Yet, together, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK have the firepower and resources to support Ukraine and help it re-establish pre-2014 borders.
Germany, though, is confused about its role. When asked about the need to use Russian assets in European financial centres to fund the war, it says the postwar international order must be observed.
It’s not alone in this view, but Berlin is at the heart of the debate about using an estimated $300bn of Russian central bank assets, much of them residing in Belgium’s Euroclear exchange, to pay for the war effort.
A spokesperson for Berlin said: “The federal government’s actions are guided by the need for our support for Ukraine to be in line with the principles of international law.
“Hence it is important that these principles of international law are adhered to in connection with sanctions as well. Otherwise, we will jeopardise our credibility, including in the global south.”