For the EU, there was no more defining moment than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The war has not only played a significant role in breaking some of the EU’s long-standing taboos in foreign policy but has also highlighted structural problems and inconsistencies among its member states. Despite the Union’s coordinated response at the start of the war, the challenges presented by the ongoing conflict demonstrate that
EU unity will remain fragile as long as institutional reforms are unaddressed and key divisions persist among member states.
Unity is the precondition for a credible EU abroad, and the Union must first put its own affairs in order if it wants to become a stronger geopolitical actor. The EU should
define its role in a changing global order, decide how to stay relevant and rethink its long-term security and economic strategy. This cannot happen without an ideological reconceptualisation of those principles that have been guiding the EU in its domestic and foreign policies so far.
This Jubilee Think Piece offers an insightful analysis of the EU’s reckoning with power in these uncertain times. As we prepare to celebrate the EPC 25th anniversary, this series of publications paves the way to the
Jubilee Conference, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday, 1 December.
With war leading the EU into a tempest, Brussels is striving not to be thrown by the waves. But is the EU ready to hold its own in a new geopolitical era and steer its way through these stormy waters?
Read the full paper here.