Russia's War in Ukraine and Security Issues of the European Union

Abstract

          The integration process that began in Western European countries in the mid-20th century and subsequently spread to Southern, Eastern and Northern Europe had a significant impact on the further development of the countries of the region. The changes that took place during the second half of the 20th century were, to a certain extent, revolutionary in nature. They affected the socio-economic and political spheres and had far-reaching consequences for the system of international relations.

           The economic cooperation that underlies the integration process was eventually supplemented by coordination of actions in the sphere of foreign policy, security and defense, including military aspects. A number of internal and external factors influenced the development of these processes. On the one hand, the very logic of the development of the integration process required the expansion of cooperation areas to the area of ​​foreign policy to protect their economic interests, on the other hand, the aggravation of international contradictions, and as a consequence the emergence of a number of conflict zones in various regions raised the question of the formation of an effective security system. European countries believed that their geopolitical space was reliably protected and seemed not to expect an enemy, but with their policy they received a war of Russia against the Ukrainian state.

          Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked the end of European security as a cooperative project. That project was based on the so-called Helsinki Decalogue, a declaration in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 that set out agreed principles of conduct between the West and the Soviet bloc. In the years and decades that followed, European security became more complex and expansive, especially after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Arms control agreements, institutional arrangements between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia, and the agencies of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) gave an ever tighter structure to the security order. That order has collapsed. European security must now be rethought and rebuilt in what promises to be a long period of Russian hostility and obstructionism.

            In these circumstances, there is little reason to reform the OSCE so that it can continue to function in a sharply divided Europe. Nor is there much reason to formally abolish it: it could still serve as a forum in which the US and Europe could meet with Russia to discuss a range of issues. This could be valuable in the absence of other regular channels of communication. So it is important for the European Union today to preserve a single, independent Ukrainian state, for its own security.