Koroleva Lolita Vitalevna – Junior Researcher, Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies, Lecturer, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University
The article examines the concept of strategic autonomy of the European Union, namely its genesis, characteristics, and the perception of this model of the EU development at the level of member states. Particular attention is paid to the problems of synchronizing the approaches of the EU member states to the formation of strategic autonomy, as well as to internal contradictions regarding the permissible limits of its achievement. In this case, limits are understood as internal consistency or, on the contrary, desynchronization of the positions of EU member states regarding the European Union’s independence in ensuring European security. The article also examines the transformation of the EU strategic discourse through a comparative analysis of the EU strategies of 2009, 2016 and the EU Strategic Compass of 2022. In addition, the author shows how the Ukrainian crisis affects the development of the concept of the EU strategic autonomy. The author concludes that the movement towards strategic autonomy – a concept that emerged in the discourse of European countries (in particular, France) long before it came to the forefront of European politics – although doctrinally recognized as one of the main goals of the EU development since 2016, in practice faces numerous contradictions within the European Union. EU member states can be roughly divided into two groups – supporters of «soft» and «hard» autonomy, – and a state’s affiliation with one group or another can be determined by its position on issues such as deepening European integration in the field of defense, strengthening the EU defense capabilities, the role of NATO (and, in particular, the US) in ensuring European security and, as a consequence, on issues related to the reorientation of European investments towards European defense production and the potential rejection of investments in the American military industry.
EU strategic autonomy, security, defense, integration, NATO
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