Russia’s War and Europe’s Changing Security Order: Time for a “Greater European Council”?

Abstract

After the destruction of the European security architecture by the unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, a new format of cooperation in Europe is needed. While reflecting on different proposals made over the past year and the concept of a European Political Community (EPC) introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron, we explore the concept of a Greater European Council (GEC) as a new way forward. Especially with the historic decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, we believe that the institutions in Brussels need to change their policies and routine procedures. The EU’s decision to pursue a Wider Europe approach with the EPC can only be seen as the first step in providing the necessary answers to the changing geopolitical and security environment. With this article, we want to contribute to the question of how to build and institutionalise stronger ties between EU and non-EU states and also shed light on the enlargement issue.