English
By George Koukakis, Secretary General & Senior Researcher of KEDISA
Despite the fact that the European Union (EU) was established as an organisation between six states –the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)– that focused on economy and trade, it gradually evolved to a Union of 27 member-states upgrading its role to a security provider with global perspectives. Two of the ambitions that the EU has set are its enlargement by the accession of additional member-states, and its involvement in maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.
The military crises though that occurred in Ukraine and the Gaza strip in 2022 and 2023 respectively, have changed the conditions of the regional security environment threatening –according the latest Draghi report– the EU’s survival. This means that the EU and its member-states must re-evaluate the goals that have been set in order to safeguard the European and national interests and make the necessary reforms in several policy fields such as Security & Defence.
This paper presents the Security & Defence framework of the European continent, examines the National Security Strategies of France and Germany, identifies the existing & emerging security threats, presents the recent developments regarding the European Security & Defence, examines the Draghi report, and analyses the two aforementioned dangerous ambitions of the EU explaining where the danger lies.
