Russia calls shots as Union averts its gaze from reality

Torn between the legitimate grievances of some of its smaller, further-flung member states and the imperative of “constant engagement” with Moscow, Angela Merkel bowed to diplomatic etiquette and attended last Friday's (18 May) EU-Russia summit in Samara. That it would achieve nothing of substance was pre-ordained, not least because of Poland's veto, the result of an ongoing Russian embargo on Polish meat.