Have the lessons of the Second World War been learned? Analysis of the ability of the European Union countries to mobilise common resources to counter threats of military invasion

Abstract

The subject of the research throws light on the political dimension of a little-explored page of European history – the military-political metamorphoses of the European Union within the political situation of the last two decades – in the face of possible threats of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, escalation of the confrontation between Serbia and the partially acknowledged state of Kosovo and between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus. This subject has repeatedly come into the focus of researchers, but they considered it purely in the context of the history of the European Union, and not as an independent scientific problem. In addition, scientists highlighted most of the issues from the economic standpoint, completely forgetting about other areas of the association. The purpose of this study is to examine the activities of the European Union in the field of military security and defence, the political and economic component of this issue, measures to enhance the mobility of decision-making and the results of the work performed. The methodological foundation of the study is a combination of general historical and political science methods, among which the leading place is occupied by retrospective and institutional. Analytical work with the materials and the selection of specific works for each of the objectives was accompanied by using critical-dialectical, historical-systemic, action and problem-chronological methods. As a result of the study, it was identified that the political, economic and military components of the EU’s defence capability are to respond quickly to potential threats as a broad diplomatic and sanctions leverage, the development of the European Security and Defense Policy, which provides for the deployment of rapid reaction forces and other possible structures, and expanded bilateral agreements with the North Atlantic Alliance, which encourage close cooperation in times of crisis. The practical value of the work is identified in the possibility of using these facts in further study of the development of the European Union in the early 21st century, and the problems of supranational entities in Europe