Author(s): Sorin-Vasile Negoiță / Language(s): Romanian
Issue: 1-2/2022
In the last years, the European and international security environment has undergone profound changes due to the growing and diverse challenges to the security and stability of the European Union, but also globally. Thus, one of the most worrying threats that could directly or indirectly affect European security is the use of force and the policy of power, which recently led to the return of war to Europe, along with Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, the growing insecurity of European citizens, the escalation of regional and global crises, the proliferation of hybrid and unconventional threats, as well as the frequent deviations from the rules-based international order. In this context, in order to address the full range of risks and challenges, there is an increased need to adapt and strengthen the capacity of European states to act together within the European Union or in cooperation with their main allies, the United States and the United Kingdom. Based on these considerations, the EU Member States have agreed, for the first time, on a strategic vision for the implementation of a common course of action for the security and defense of the European space, leading to a stronger and more capable European Union. So, the Council of the European Union approved the Strategic Compass, an ambitious concept paper designed to strengthen EU security and defense. On the other hand, at a time when NATO is facing the most complex challenges in its entire history, it has been concluded that a review of the Alliance’s strategy for peacekeeping and protecting its members is needed. In this regard, at the NATO Summit in Brussels in June 2021, the leaders of the NATO states agreed on an ambitious NATO 2030 agenda, which also included the decision to develop a new Strategic Concept. At the same time, Putin’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine has increasingly fueled the idea of re-evaluating security concepts in the European and Euro-Atlantic space, but also produced some intensifications in major European states, such as France, as well as a change of paradigm in foreign and defense policy, as in Germany.
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