The EU, an organization reeking of bureaucratic inertia, internal squabbles, and seemingly endless debate, is now acting like a decisive, unified bloc. Again, if you inquired a week ago as to whether the EU would unanimously agree to take action against the Russian Central Bank and freeze Russia’s euro-denominated foreign reserves (as of January 2021, 29 percent of Russia’s total reserves were in euros), I would have laughed in your face. But alas this is precisely what the EU did — and it did so in rapid fashion, two days after Moscow began its military operation. That is quite extraordinary given that so many of Europe’s big powers are heavily dependent on Moscow for energy and in the past have been reticent to antagonize the Kremlin.

Italy, the so-called soft underbelly of Europe, has hardened its gut and stepped up to the plate. Relations between Russia and Italy have traditionally been warm, at least compared to other European countries. Italian business conglomerates boast healthy ties with the Russian market; with exports north of $15 billion, Italy is Russia’s fourth largest market in the EU. The Italians also get 40 percent of their natural gas supplies from Russia. But if Putin thought he could bank on Rome slow-rolling EU sanctions measures, he was quickly disappointed. Italy has more to lose than most European countries, Prime Minister Mario Draghi told the Italian parliament on March 1. Even so, he said, “This does not diminish our determination to support sanctions that we deem justified and necessary.”