This year’s Europe Day on May 9th is different. It is the first time Europeans celebrate the day in the midst of a war on European soil in which Ukrainians and Russians are being killed and large parts of Ukraine are being destroyed. We do not yet know how the conflict will develop in the period ahead. Russia’s war against a sovereign country is also a war against the EU: its post-national cooperation, its support for its neighbors, and its values. So far, the EU has reacted quickly and in unison, and we only can hope that this unity will endure.
The Russian war is manifold. It is directed first and foremost against Ukraine, but it also threatens Moldova, Georgia, and other countries. It is also a war fueled by extreme nationalism and revanchism in the pursuit of reestablishing a “Greater Russia.” But it is also a fight against open-minded, democratic, and liberal forces inside Russia itself. The EU must respond forcefully to these challenges. It must not only support Ukraine to defend itself but also defend liberal values inside the EU. The EU must reject the illiberal course set by Viktor Orban in Hungary while continuing to observe and criticize the violation of democratic principles undertaken by the government in Poland. Support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland – largely by citizens and local communities – does not absolve the government from taking responsibility for its violation of EU values and laws.
The EU has reacted collectively against Russia’s aggression. Before the invasion, the EU had already demonstrated an unprecedented level of determination to forge a united path in rebuilding its economies after the first waves of Covid-19. While EU member states were overly focused on their own national needs and measures during the onset of the pandemic, they were at least united in helping those most in need of care. This common attitude and approach must be revived in implementing the EU’s new climate and energy policies. Energy security has taken on an entirely new dimension and urgency since Russia’s invasion. We must not only look for new sources of oil and gas outside Russia, but we must accelerate the EU’s energy transformation by pursuing all the targets outlined in the European Commission’s REPowerEU proposal. At the same time, EU member states must also take measures to protect their most vulnerable citizens who are disproportionately affected by high energy prices.
The fight for energy security must be accompanied by the fight for global food security. The war in Ukraine has led to food scarcity and rapidly rising food prices, especially for wheat and sunflower oil. This affects poor countries dependent on food imports in particular. To alleviate the impact on those already in poverty – and those who had previously escaped poverty – more financial support is needed. An additional challenge is that many of the poorest countries have high levels of public debt and must pay significantly higher interest for new debts compared to rich countries.
These countries require debt relief as well as robust financial support for their energy transition. As the majority of new CO2 emissions will come from these countries, support by the EU and other developed countries is in the global interest. It is also in the political interest of the West, as many developing countries have maintained a neutral position concerning Russia’s aggression, as it is not a war they are interested in. Their “war” is against poverty, poor health, and environmental threats and for economic growth, which calls for assistance by the EU.
It is not only energy security and food security policies that have received a newfound priority and urgency: the EU’s enlargement policy must also be revised and reformulated. The accession process concerning the Western Balkans has stalled, and the EU faces strengthened aspirations for membership from Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. The EU needs a new process whereby these countries can be integrated gradually into EU structures through a step-by-step process. The mutual buildup of rights and obligations between the EU and candidate countries must finally end in full membership, but only after reforms have been implemented in the countries themselves as well as inside the EU. The EU needs a parallel policy of strengthening and enlargement.
Part of this strengthening must also include an enhanced common defense policy, which is not the same as an EU army. The EU’s defense will always be dependent on NATO, which largely means the US. Unfortunately, the Russian invasion has further increased the EU’s dependency on the US for security. However, defense is composed of many dimensions. We need stronger EU cooperation in areas including arms procurement, research and development, and cyber security. EU defense policy must be part of an overall framework for building a new Europe that protects its citizens against all external threats.
In short, the EU currently faces many new challenges. Thus far, the EU has remained united, but it must develop new strategies to adjust to a time when war on European soil has become not only a theoretical possibility but a tragic reality. The EU must now more than ever integrate its policies for internal cooperation while developing an innovative enlargement policy and global support for the poorest parts of the world. This must be done through increased financial contributions to allow for enhanced military spending, more support for the EU’s most vulnerable citizens due to rising food and energy prices, and the eventual reconstruction of Ukraine.
Finally, even as Russia continues to block the potential for peace in both the UN and the OSCE, the EU must insist on the priority of multinational efforts to solve the world’s most pressing crises, from establishing and preserving peace and stopping the nuclear arms race to fighting poverty and global warming. For the moment, this seems naive and futile, but the EU cannot allow for a return to a world in which nations fight one another to win power and domination over the world’s resources. This would only exacerbate the disasters we are already facing.
Dr. Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Institute for Peace (IIP), started his career in urban politics in Vienna and was elected member of the European Parliament in 1996. He was Vice President of the Social Democrat Group until 2012 und then President until 2014. He was particularly engaged in foreign, enlargement, and neighborhood policies. Swoboda is also President of the Vienna Institute for International Economics, the Centre of Architecture, the University for Applied Science - Campus Vienna, and the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute.