National, local, and EU-level governance are poor proxies to ascertaining whether governance is good, because none are an assurance in itself of the respect for civil liberties, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
In the last decade, the European Union has seen an increasing number of attacks on, or even rejection of, some of these founding values by none other than democratically elected governments of EU member states.
In a nutshell, European strategic autonomy is about having the necessary means to achieve foreign policy goals while cooperating with partners – or acting alone if necessary.
The real problem of the debate on the future of the European Union is the lack of innovation and encouragement on the federalist side. The failure of the European Constitution and the series of crises in the past decade discouraged the reformers.
Protecting the security, freedom, and democracy of the European future and NATO-led global order requires building a strong European central intelligence agency in addition to the existing national security systems.
Irrespective of the final outcome of the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack a sovereign European country seems to have cemented Western cohesion on the old continent – both rhetorically and practically.
Europe must have its joint army, which will respond to any security challenges. Another argument is that if the EU aims to become a global power, it cannot achieve it without its own military force.
The recent humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has, among other things, illuminated the path of de-bureaucratization and trusting more in the self-regulation of persons both for the EU and its member states as a way to move forward.
On February 15, 2016, Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted their application for membership in the European Union. It seemed at the time that this could result in candidate status.
The European Union needs better integration, more democracy and freedom, less susceptibility to external blackmail, and no tolerance for those who violate common values. Changes should embrace areas from security and foreign affairs to employment and culture.
