The efficiency of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy: the case study of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

This elaborate describes the evolution of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) in order to investigate whether the EU is really able to manage crisis situations through the CFSP or if the policy could be somehow improved. The events that brought this policy to its current status are deeply connected with the process of integration of the European Union and the positioning of the EU in the world arena as a single actor. The EU, indeed, placed itself in the international environment and it built a sui generis foreign and security policy and a particular relationship with NATO. The EU did succeed in building a system of External relations and Common Foreign and Security Policy on paper. However, every case in which the EU had the possibility to act had different shades of needs. Subsequently, I decided to study how the European Union is dealing with the current Russian-Ukrainian crisis. This case is particularly relevant to better understand whether the EU is able to tackle security issues and have a positive impact or if there is the need to further revise its powers.