The European Union, like so much of the world these days, seems constantly to be staring into the abyss. Its latest “crisis” summit – the umpteenth by my reckoning, but I may be underestimating the number – is charged with nothing less than the collection and allocation of around 1.75 trillion euros (£1.6 trillion), first to keep the show on the road for the next seven years and, and secondly to prop up those countries and economies worst hit by the coronavirus.