Strengthening EU Defence Capabilities Under Conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Abstract

The issued article describes the military-political dimension of the European Union's activity and its prospects for transformation into a collective security association within the framework of the Russian-Ukrainian war. This topic was the focus of researchers, however, it was considered by them in the context of the history of the European Union and did not involve a separate study. The purpose of this study is to consider the gradation of the defense capability of the European Union in the period from the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war (2014) to the moment of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine (2022) and the prospects for further development of this area within the EU. The basis of methodological basis of the research is a combination of general historical and political science methods, among which retrospective and institutional methods take the leading place. Analytical work with materials and selection of certain works for each of the tasks was accompanied by the use of critical-dialectical, historical-systemic, action, and problem-chronological methods. As a result of the study, it was found that the military component of the defense capability of the European Union consists of the review and development of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), the creation of new defense programs (PESCO), “loyalty programs” (European Partnership Policy) and other possible structures for the emergence of a large security space on the borders with Russia and its satellites. The practical value of the work is revealed in the possibility of using the mentioned facts in the further study of the topic of the development of the defense sphere of the European Union in the 21st century, as well as the problems of supranational security formations, in particular on the territory of Europe