Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter

Has the war in Ukraine made the EU a geopolitical actor?

Nicoletta Pirozzi 2nd May 2022

Suddenly, Nicoletta Pirozzi writes, the EU’s ‘geopolitical’ claims have become essential, not aspirational.

geopolitical,Strategic Compass,strategic autonomy
Europeans have quite enough collective memory of totalitarianism not to want to repeat that shameful history (VILTVART/shutterstock.com)

The war in Ukraine represents the greatest geopolitical challenge facing the European Union. Moscow attacked Kiev with explicitly imperialist aims, with a view to restoring what it considers its rightful ‘sphere of influence’ in the European neighbourhood, thus implicitly threatening other European countries (including EU members).

The aggression also entails a systemic element. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is promoting an autocratic-state model in the European neighbourhood, in contrast to the democratic polity towards which countries such as Ukraine and Georgia have been striving—the value system on which the EU is founded and which it seeks to project.

Radical rethink

This has led the union to rethink radically its relations with Russia. The traditionally co-operative approach is giving way to a sort of containment strategy, which will last for the foreseeable future. Hence the reflection on how to end the energy and technological dependencies that bind Europe to Russia, the offer of substantial support to democracy in countries threatened by its expansionism and the defence of the resilience of our societies from Russian interference through disinformation and cyber assaults.

Most fundamentally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed the EU to exercise a proactive role at regional and global levels, thus testing its ability to implement the ‘strategic autonomy’ it has been advocating for a long time. And in its immediate reaction to the menace coming from east, the EU has shown a unity and resolve many—perhaps including Putin—did not expect.

Our job is keeping you informed!


Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up to date with the latest Social Europe content.


We will never send you spam and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Thank you!

Please check your inbox and click on the link in the confirmation email to complete your newsletter subscription.

.

Instead of playing the role of a paper tiger in a world of great powers, the union has displayed a determination to mobilise all the instruments at its disposal, from diplomacy to sanctions, from military assistance to humanitarian support. After she was appointed as president of the European Commission in 2019, Ursula von der Leyen did promise this would be a ‘geopolitical’ commission and three initiatives in particular are unprecedented.

Extremely restrictive measures have been imposed on Russian financial institutions and media, and these may soon be expanded to the import of oil and even gas. The European Peace Facility has been activated to support the Ukrainian armed forces with a budget of €1.5 billion. And a temporary-protection scheme has been adopted for persons fleeing Ukraine as a consequence of the war.

Structural reforms

At the same time, the war in Ukraine has confirmed the limits of the EU to date as a geopolitical actor, from its energy dependence to a barely existing defence dimension—to mention merely the most evident weak spots. Being a relevant stakeholder in the new international (dis)order created by Putin will require more structural, long-term reforms.

On energy, member states are confronted with various levels of threat to their supplies, with Germany the most exposed. Spain and Portugal have been allowed to introduce an electricity price cap. Poland and Bulgaria need help to face the cut-off of gas by Moscow. A sustainable strategy would need stronger action at EU level—to ensure not only availability of alternative energy sources, possibly with common purchase and storage mechanisms, but also compatibility with the commitments undertaken in the Green Deal and particularly the ‘Fit for 55’ package.

On defence, the Strategic Compass adopted in March emerged already obsolete, yet the February 24th attack led member states to revise only its narrative, not its substance. It cannot be the instrument to realise what is most needed in the current context—an EU capacity to project a credible military force outside its borders and to enhance deterrence, with a view to offering adequate security guarantees to its citizens and neighbours while exercising more collective weight in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.


We need your support


Social Europe is an independent publisher and we believe in freely available content. For this model to be sustainable, however, we depend on the solidarity of our readers. Become a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month and help us produce more articles, podcasts and videos. Thank you very much for your support!

Become a Social Europe Member

Concrete initiatives should be identified to use in a joint or, at least, co-ordinated fashion the additional budgetary resources member states are currently allocating, avoiding a renationalisation of defence spending. At the same time, decision-making rules which would allow the deployment of European forces quickly and effectively—such as qualified-majority voting—should be introduced.

European perspective

Another crucial aspect concerns the future of enlargement. At this stage it is important to offer a European perspective to Ukraine, as the best way to support democracy in line with our values and interests.

The accession process might however turn into a trap for everyone: Ukraine risks being alienated by the long, bureaucratic procedure, the EU could suffer unbearable ‘enlargement fatigue’ and meanwhile other partners in the western-Balkans anteroom could chafe at the inconsistencies. Strengthening the current association agreement between Brussels and Kiev, with a view to integrating Ukraine in the internal market and improving co-operation in security, could offer a short-term and parallel, if not alternative, way forward.

Besides, the challenges and constraints the EU still has to face suggest that building the union’s geopolitical power must go hand in hand with buttressing an international system based on shared norms and institutions. Indeed, only in such a context can the EU fully exercise its strengths—its regulatory and normative capabilities—while minimising its weaknesses, which inevitably emerge in a confrontational environment based purely on power politics.

Global dimension

The EU’s agenda therefore cannot exclude a global dimension and the reinforcement of global governance institutions via their reform. From the United Nations Security Council to the international financial institutions, the EU should urgently find a common position and seek the support of partner countries. The timing could be favourable to have the United States on board in this endeavour, as the Europeans could now easily call for Washington’s support in the context of a renewed transatlantic partnership.

The details will be tailored to each specific institution but the underlying logic should be the overcoming of the post-Yalta structure, which embedded the pre-eminence of the great powers after World War II with the privilege of veto amid their emerging bipolar confrontation. This means making these institutions more transparent, more representative and more democratic—giving voice to those countries which have so far remained excluded or marginalised.

This is a joint publication by Social Europe and IPS-Journal

Nicoletta Pirozzi

Nicoletta Pirozzi is head of the EU programme and institutional-relations manager at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), specialising in EU politics and institutions, Italian foreign policy and international security. She is president of MondoDem, a progressive foreign-policy network, and a founding member of ProgressiveActs.

Home ・ Politics ・ Has the war in Ukraine made the EU a geopolitical actor?

Most Popular Posts

Ukraine,workers' rights,laws,labour,protection,liberalisation,zero hours Ukraine to pass laws wrecking workers’ rightsThomas Rowley and Serhiy Guz
airport chaos,chaos at airports,queues, security, key workers,essential workers Airport chaos: security guards and cleaners still keyMark Bergfeld
China,Ukraine China to the rescue?Branko Milanovic
Boris Johnson, Brexit, Conservative,conservatism Boris Johnson: blustering onPaul Mason
deglobalisation,deglobalization,Davos Getting deglobalisation rightJoseph Stiglitz

Most Recent Posts

labour law,ukraine,trade unions,social dialogue,ILO,International Labour Organization Ukraine could abandon key labour principleThomas Rowley and Serhiy Guz
cars,vehicles,transport,industry,jobs,skills,Europe,retraining Vehicles and just transition—turning the wheelSarah Mewes and Gloria Koepke
hybrid working,working from home,new normal Blurring of boundaries in work’s ‘new normal’Rolf Schmucker
ECB,European Central Bank,Draghi,whatever it takes,euro ‘Whatever it takes’, ten years onLászló Andor and David Rinaldi
pandemic preparedness,pandemic response,financial intermediary fund,FIF,Covid-19 Effective pandemic response must be truly globalMariana Mazzucato and Jayati Ghosh

Other Social Europe Publications

National recovery and resilience plans
The transatlantic relationship
Women and the coronavirus crisis
RE No. 12: Why No Economic Democracy in Sweden?
US election 2020

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

Towards a new Minimum Wage Policy in Germany and Europe: WSI minimum wage report 2022

The past year has seen a much higher political profile for the issue of minimum wages, not only in Germany, which has seen fresh initiatives to tackle low pay, but also in those many other countries in Europe that have embarked on substantial and sustained increases in statutory minimum wages. One key benchmark in determining what should count as an adequate minimum wage is the threshold of 60 per cent of the median wage, a ratio that has also played a role in the European Commission's proposals for an EU-level policy on minimum wages. This year's WSI Minimum Wage Report highlights the feasibility of achieving minimum wages that meet this criterion, given the political will. And with an increase to 12 euro per hour planned for autumn 2022, Germany might now find itself promoted from laggard to minimum-wage trailblazer.


FREE DOWNLOAD

ETUI advertisement

Workers on the route

Discover the new issue of HesaMag, the health and safety magazine with a European view (aussi disponible en français), published twice a year by the ETUI, and take your seat for an exclusive journey through the day-to-day reality of transport workers across Europe, from Romanian drivers to Dutch dockers and French female flight attendants, just to name a few.


MORE INFORMATION HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Fifth round of the Living, working and Covid-19 e-survey: Living in a new era of uncertainty

The fifth round of Eurofound's e-survey, sampled between March 25th and May 2nd 2022, sheds light on the social and economic situation of people across Europe two years after Covid-19 was first detected on the European continent. It also explores the reality of living in a new era of uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, inflation and rising energy prices. The e-survey reveals the heavy toll of the pandemic, with respondents reporting lower trust in institutions than at the onset, poorer mental wellbeing, a rise in unmet healthcare need and an increase in households experiencing energy poverty.


AVAILABLE HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Discover the summer issue of the Progressive Post!

The summer issue of the Progressive Post magazine from FEPS is out! It offers compelling analysis on: the energy-crisis challenge, Ukraine war, western Balkans, enlargement, housing crisis, rural areas, minimum wage and much more!

Almost five months into the war, and against the backdrop of soaring energy prices, rising inflation, a changing international order, rampant disinformation, the Ukrainian refugee emergency and all the other consequences triggered by the Russian war against Ukraine, the EU finds itself at a historic turning point. It must choose between sticking together, taking bold decisions, and acting accordingly—or, on the other side, allowing indecisiveness and divisions to gain the upper hand.


DOWNLOAD HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us on social media

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube