Abstract
Few observers of world politics and European politics have failed to notice the European Union’s recent intense activities in the area of defence and security. The reason for this striking development is not difficult to divine.
The United States has largely abandoned its significant role after World War II as a guarantor of world peace most vividly illustrated by the Trump administration’s devastating decisions to revoke its long-standing commitment to military and economic support of Ukraine in a bid to claim friendlier relationships with the Kremlin.
While European countries were largely taken by surprise by these turbulent geopolitical developments, there has been a rarely witnessed determination by the EU Member States and significant allies like the UK and Canada to prepare for a defence of Europe and Ukraine without the contribution of the US.
The EU rearmament plan is a very welcome development in terms of addressing the highly dangerous current geopolitical climate but there are many challenges in implementing the plan in practice — in particular that the plan relies heavily on joint support and unity from individual EU Member States and other allies.
Negotiations on the plan among European states will be complex, costly and politically challenging.
At the end of the day there is, however, no compelling alternative — if Europeans do not come together on this, we can envisage a significant expansion by the Kremlin and a potentially much larger conflict on the European continent.
Morally, we also owe the Ukrainian people a large debt for keeping Russian forces at bay and protecting our European continent. We must repay this debt.
The United States has largely abandoned its significant role after World War II as a guarantor of world peace most vividly illustrated by the Trump administration’s devastating decisions to revoke its long-standing commitment to military and economic support of Ukraine in a bid to claim friendlier relationships with the Kremlin.
While European countries were largely taken by surprise by these turbulent geopolitical developments, there has been a rarely witnessed determination by the EU Member States and significant allies like the UK and Canada to prepare for a defence of Europe and Ukraine without the contribution of the US.
The EU rearmament plan is a very welcome development in terms of addressing the highly dangerous current geopolitical climate but there are many challenges in implementing the plan in practice — in particular that the plan relies heavily on joint support and unity from individual EU Member States and other allies.
Negotiations on the plan among European states will be complex, costly and politically challenging.
At the end of the day there is, however, no compelling alternative — if Europeans do not come together on this, we can envisage a significant expansion by the Kremlin and a potentially much larger conflict on the European continent.
Morally, we also owe the Ukrainian people a large debt for keeping Russian forces at bay and protecting our European continent. We must repay this debt.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Publikationsdato | 20. mar. 2025 |
| Status | Udgivet - 20. mar. 2025 |