Will Covid-19 be the death of the EU?

Will Covid-19 be the death of the EU?

With the inevitable budgetary pressures caused by Brexit, the EU was already under strong internal pressure that was essentially caused by three completely opposite views.
The attitude of the EU commission was that, despite the removal of contributions from a major benefactor, the European project should continue as usual and even expand to new projects such as the development of a European army.
Meanwhile, Europe’s net recipients of funds firmly affirm that their individual grants and payments, of whatever nature, must be fully protected.
However, the net taxpayers, the countries whose taxpayers actually finance the project, make it clear that with UK trade in the balance, the last thing they want to do is pay more in the EU coffers, no matter how plausible they are. the reasons.
The idea came up at the future budget meeting that current payments of 1% of GDP be increased to 1.5%. A small figure in percentage terms. But big sums actually for net taxpayers like Germany. It goes without saying that the budget meeting faltered.
Along comes the horrible Coronavirus, Covid-19 to which no human was yet immediately immune.
There was a time when the European Parliament should have stood out, defining a common form of defense for all its 27 members and providing funds guaranteed by the ECB in equal measure. This would allow all countries to have secured the financial support they need to defend themselves against the virus and protect their citizens.
In doing so, the EU would be the focal point of a team plan that made sense of the free flow of ‘Schengen’ citizens to provide a coordinated pattern of aid.
But no. The European Parliament closed its doors and let its member countries go their own way. Germany immediately spent billions in defense against the virus, while Italy, which was reeling financially, could only pay millions. The results become increasingly a matter of history.
Needles to say, nations became protective of their own situation and closed their borders to all but their own citizens. In this way, the negotiated position of Brexit / EU is broken, that open borders must be agreed, especially since the probability that some borders now closed will never be reopened.

Every EU country, and possibly worldwide, has spent every penny they could afford to protect themselves against the virus. Businesses were closed and loss of wages compensated, in many cases. As a result, there is no doubt that a global recession will result from the virus.
However, that particular cloud has a silver line, since unlike the last recession, it is not the financial structures that are damaged, but simply the lack of demand that in many cases will return with a boost.
But for the EU, they have been shown to be a toothless leader. Nationalism will have saved the day and even if 1% of GDP is maintained, it will take some time for that percentage to recover to its real cash present value, so future EU plans will inevitably shrink due to lack of funds .
Furthermore, the UK’s trade link with the EU is now, by default, broken. All companies will recover at their own pace as demand recedes. Losing access to the single market is no longer a threat. What single market?
Countries like Germany, desperate to sell their products, will make deals with the United Kingdom to trade, despite the dictates of the EU. The purpose and benefit of the EU will disappear and soon after, the future of the euro will undoubtedly be questioned.
In conclusion, I believe that it is inevitable that after this pandemic the EU will never regain its former status, then, quickly or slowly, it will decline until it becomes simply a footnote to history.