On June 18–19 of this year, a summit was held in Brussels where Andrius Kubilius, the former Prime Minister of Lithuania and current European Commissioner for Defense and Security, presented his proposal to establish a European Defense Union.
The urgent need for such a regional security alliance arose due to Russia’s aggressive foreign policy and the United States’ de facto abdication of responsibility for European defense and security.
According to Andrius Kubilius’s proposal, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as Norway, Germany, France, and Poland, are to become key players in the creation of such a defense union.
Separately, Mr. Kubilius emphasized that the new European Defense Union would not be an alternative to NATO but would serve as a natural complement to it.
Today, responsibility for the EU’s defense rests with national armies, but this system is ineffective; therefore, it is proposed to create joint European defense forces under a single command. Specifically, this involves rapid reaction forces and air defense capabilities.
Given that Europe is one of the most technologically and economically advanced regions in the world, it is capable of rapidly building up its military potential, which will significantly surpass that of Russia – a country that is currently an aggressor and the main violator of peace and stability on the European continent. Ultimately, this will force Russia to end the war against Ukraine and give up its aggressive foreign policy in the future.
Overall, Andrius Kubilius’s idea of creating a European Defense Union was also supported by the former Minister of Defence of Germany and current President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who stated: “The time has come to build a European Defense Union that will ensure true peace on our continent through unity and strength”.
The discussion at this summit regarding the need to create a new European security system was quite lively. There was no shortage of criticism. At the same time, the majority of participants at the gathering viewed Andrius Kubilius’ proposal positively, as was to be expected. Discussions on this project will continue in the near future, ultimately leading to the creation of a new – and, most importantly, more rational and effective – European security system which will serve as a reliable guarantor of peace and sociopolitical stability on our continent.
Oleh Bereziuk,
Institute for Global Politics
Photo source: Ukrinform
