Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February
2022 marked the start of the largest and most
brutal war at the heart of the European continent
since World War II. It inevitably came as a “cold
shower” for the EU and Member States’ politicians,
demonstrating with absolute certainty the fragility of
the international and European security order. The
EU responded to the invasion with unprecedented
sanctions against Russia and Belarus and multifaceted resolute support to Ukraine. The latter
included the breaking of many previously existing
taboos, such as the first ever use of the European
Peace Facility to procure weapons for a third country
at war or offering collective protection to about 8
million Ukrainian citizens and residents, fleeing the
war
Topic:
European Union, Geopolitics, Resilience, Technocracy, Regional Politics, and Russia-Ukraine War
The publication of an international arrest warrant
against Vladimir Putin on 17 March 2023 by the
Second Pre-Trial Chamber of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) has caused a stir. Although the
institution is far from immune from criticism (it has
long been accused of being "strong with the weak
and weak with the strong"), this is a major change in
the Court's policy as it is the first warrant ever issued
against the sitting leader of a permanent member of
the UN Security Council; a member who, moreover,
in a chilling irony of history, played a key role in the
Nuremberg Trial. In some respects, this is a gamble,
given the many obstacles that stand between this
historic event and a possible conviction of Vladimir
Putin. But this arrest warrant is also a way to put
the ICC back in the centre of the game, even though
until now it seems to have been largely denied the
possibility of judging the main perpetrator of the
war of aggression against Ukraine and its disastrous
humanitarian consequences.
Topic:
International Law, War Crimes, International Criminal Court (ICC), Vladimir Putin, and Russia-Ukraine War
The European Union has been deeply affected by the
war in Ukraine. There was talk of a "paradigm shift"
in France, of a "Zeitenwende" ("change of era") in
Germany, of an "end to naivety". Across Europe, a
surge of sympathy and solidarity for Ukraine and its
suffering has gripped public opinion, right down to the
blue and yellow colours of the EU and Ukrainian flags
being ostensibly displayed by Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Union has given massive economic
aid to Ukraine (€20 billion already paid out, €20
billion planned for 2023) and has taken in 4 million
Ukrainian refugees. At the June European Council,
it accepted Ukraine's membership application, as
well as that of Moldova, and a prospect of accession
for Georgia. By adopting sanctions against Russia
that were unprecedented since those taken against
Serbia at the beginning of the wars in the former
Yugoslavia, it has also demonstrated its capacity for
"hard power". In the wake of its common defence
policy, it delivered arms to Ukraine for the first time
through its €3 billion "peace facility". By almost
completely depriving itself of Russian fossil fuels, it
is accelerating its energy transition.
This shows the enormous change that the war in
Ukraine represents for the European project, which is
undergoing a new existential crisis after the repeated
shocks of the last few years (eurozone crisis,
migration crisis, Brexit, Covid-19 pandemic), which
again seems to confirm Jean Monnet's prophecy that
Europe would be built through crises and would be
the sum of the solutions brought to these challenges.
By defending its values against Russia, the European
Union is asserting itself as a "liberal power". But it
remains no less fragile beyond its response.
Topic:
European Union, Geopolitics, Liberalism, Strategic Autonomy, and Russia-Ukraine War