Введение

Abstract

The introduction examines the interaction of the EU countries and their approaches to the themes of defence and security in the changed geopolitical realities (Brexit, D. Trump's rise to power in the USA, the mood of the new leadership of the EU institutions, etc.). It highlights both the difficulties in creating an independent defence pole and the opportunities that open up in connection with Brexit and an objective reduction in the potential for blocking initiatives aimed at revitalizing and implementing specific defence projects. The difficulties of creating the EU military doctrine and the implementation of a common strategic culture are revealed in the context of different goal-setting of the main participants in European defence construction, related, inter alia, to the heterogeneous development of the integration in the context of its ongoing expansion, different perception and assessment of threats and the existence of de facto unequal security zones in Europe. The nature of the interaction between the CSDP EU and NATO is shown; the role of this interaction as a catalyst for the processes of greater EU independence in the military sphere is highlighted, taking into account the specifics of the EU global approach to resolving crises of low and medium intensity on the periphery of the EU. An assessment of the feasibility of cooperation plans in the field of defence and security, initiatives at the EU and interstate levels in connection with the pandemic is given. It notes the flexibility, sustainability and multi-formatting of defence cooperation in the EU, the political mood of its main participants to continue and improve cooperation within the framework of the CSDP in order to strengthen the EU’s position as an international political actor.