Acceso usuarios
Alicia Hinarejos
The world watched with horror as Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022. While some had predicted this escalation of a conflict that had been going on for years, many more were surprised by it, even after weeks of extreme tension. The invasion has created a colossal, ongoing international crisis. As evidence of war crimes mounts and legal proceedings are underway, the International Criminal Court issued an Order on provisional measures instructing Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine immediately. At the time of writing, the atrocities continue.
The legal proceedings before the International Criminal Court are but a small part of the reaction to this unprovoked and unjustified military aggression. Most of the international community was quick to react and condemn. The European Union in particular was surprisingly swift and effective in its response, taking unprecedented steps against Russia. An extraordinary meeting of the European Council took place on the first day of the Russian invasion to condemn the attack and prepare the EU’s response. All in all, four packages of restrictive measures have been adopted: They include individual restrictive measures, a broad variety of economic sanctions targeting exchanges with Russia in different sectors (including a prohibition on transactions with the Russian Central Bank, the removal of several Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, and an EU airspace ban for Russian carriers), and the suspension of EU broadcasting of certain Russian state-owned outlets. Some of these sanctions were also later adopted against Belarus because of its involvement in the aggression. The EU measures have also included a €450 million support package to finance lethal equipment and supplies to the Ukrainian armed forces, to be financed under the European Peace Facility through Member State contributions and to be implemented by the 24 participating Member States.
The EU has never acted in such a comprehensive and powerful manner in matters of foreign and security policy. Many of the measures adopted are new to the EU, and it has been surprising and encouraging in equal measure to see the unity in Member States’ response and the speed at which measures were agreed and put in place. It may be argued that more should be done, such as a ban on Russia’s key energy exports, a no-fly zone over Ukraine, or even an EU peacekeeping mission; there are clear limits to the Member States’ consensus, and they may have been reached already. Nevertheless, we are witnessing unprecedented collective action and wielding of geopolitical power on the part of the EU, possibly with lasting effects. At an informal meeting at Versailles, the Heads of State and Government agreed to ‘resolutely invest more and better in defence capabilities and innovative technologies’, as a ‘stronger and more capable EU in the field of security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defence for its members.’ The declaration also contains a commitment to reducing the Union’s energy dependencies, which have become painfully obvious in the current context. (...)
