Merkel is calling shots...

It was she, who after virtual talks on Thursday, announced that digital vaccination certificates enabling people to travel in Europe despite the coronavirus pandemic will probably be available before the summer.

The EU Commission was involved in the meeting but had little to say for itself - hence why I presume that Merkel decided to take it upon herself to make an announcement on behalf of the EU.

How this went down in Brussels will remain to be seen, but what it certainly demonstrates is that EU member states are clearly frustrated with any lack of direction from Brussels with regards to the pandemic.

The EU hierarchy was extremely slow from the start and didn’t begin to make any right noises until Europe was well within the grasp of the killer virus. Yes, Brussels agreed to a massive financial recovery package, but the latest reports suggest that it is not going to be able to honour its pledged due to a lack of cash, and that will not go down well with anti-EU sentiment growing all the time in a many of member states.

If Brussels is not careful, the EU members states are going to forge ahead on their own and that will not bode well for the commissioners in their ivory tower.