I would be very careful taking either zerohedge or rt.com seriously.
zerohedge is a conspiracy theory/pseudo science blog and rt is Russian propaganda.
While the quoted article is true. Germany has export restriction on masks and 3M Germany tried to ship some trucks full of masks to Switzerland.
Switzerland is not part of the EU, so good luck to them getting masks on the market.
Actually Germany also blocked several shipments from China to Switzerland in Hamburg based on their new restrictions. Not much to do with this EU free market fuckery, just stealing things basically. But for completeness sake: These shipments are said to be released meanwhile. But the unfriendly act of Germany has not been received too well in Switzerland, that could easily backfire later.
But it is heartwarming to watch from outside how solidary all the EU helps Italy in these times..
Agree. This is what the EU was founded for in the first place. But some members think they are more important than others, based on membership time and economy figures.
This is deadly for any alliance, but we'll see how the EU holds up while being put through the current challenges in the future. Already weakened by the immigration issues of the last decade, the EU may fail even more because of Covid19.
I believe to remember vaguely that the Montan Union was basically initiated by the French to keep a close watch over the naughty Germans.
Keeping that in mind, I have an impression that this project somehow got a bit out of control.