Geopolitical Consequences of the War in Ukraine for the European Union

Abstract

This article assesses the geopolitical consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022 on the European Union (EU). It seems to have highlighted the differences in the perception of the strategic situation between the eastern and western parts of the Union. These differences relate to the preferred relations with the United States, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, but also include the issue of systemic changes in the EU and how European integration is managed. This is also related to the different perception of the role of EU values as a mechanism potentially counteracting disintegration tendencies. The author’s question is how the war in Ukraine affects these two different perceptions of geopolitics and internal reforms in the EU. The main thesis of the study is that war highlights the differences between actors and has essentially not changed previous perceptions of geopolitical challenges.