Consolidation and crisis: The evolution of the European Union’s legal framework in pursuing peace, stability, and unity amidst global challenges

Abstract

In light of recent events like the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, which pose serious obstacles to the European Union’s ability to operate normally, research into the unique characteristics of the EU and future prospects for its growth and survival is especially pertinent. The purpose of the article was to learn about and examine the founding history of the European Union, the difficulties it has experienced throughout its existence, and the opportunities for it to continue to exist and develop as a special alliance of European nations. The main methods that were used in the work are the following: systematic, historical research method, forecasting method. The findings allowed for the construction of an understanding of the EU’s past, its subsequent formation, and the peculiarities associated with its institutional structure. The article also highlighted a number of challenges that accompanied the development of the European Union and how the EU struggled with their solutions, in particular, attention was mostly paid to three main ones: the withdrawal of Great Britain from the EU, the pandemic that was caused by the coronavirus infection, and also the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, expected and forthcoming energy and inflation crises, as well. A special place in the results of the article is the highlighting of the prospects for the further development against the background of modern problems that the European Union is facing. In particular, given a historical analysis of the functioning of the European Union, the main scenarios regarding the forms of further existence of the Union of European countries are proposed. The results of the work can be used in further research on relevant topics by historians, sociologists and lawyers as reference material for researching the peculiarities of the European Union.