Handlungsfähig, flexibel und exekutivdominiert: Wie der russische Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine die Europäische Union verändert

Abstract

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine poses an enormous challenge also for the crisis-tested European Union (EU). The analysis of the impact on its institutional structures shows that so far there has been no radical transformation of the EU, but that its institutions have expanded on flexible mechanisms developed in previous crises. Intergovernmental-executive dominance continued, with the European Council and the European Commission at the centre of decision-making, while the European Parliament remained largely at the margins. In the long term, the promise of EU membership for Ukraine and the revival of accession processes with the countries of the Western Balkan open up the prospect of a broader transformation; in the short term, immediate constitutional debates were avoided even after the Conference on the Future of Europe. The structures of the EU have proven flexible in crisis management, yet long-term reforms are necessary to ensure the democratic legitimacy and capacity to act of a potentially enlarged EU.