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European Sovereignty

The issue of European sovereignty has been highlighted by Russian aggression in Ukraine. Beyond the necessary debates, the EU was able to react in a coordinated manner by six sets of sanctions against Russia, signs of its economic power.
It was united in welcoming refugees. It broke a taboo by financing arms deliveries with money from the common budget.
The effort was increased from €0.5bn to €2bn, including the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine.
However, the United States forms the heart of the military reaction. 

NATO appears to most Europeans as this “life insurance”, evoked in 2019 by Heiko Maas, the then German Foreign Minister. Finland and Sweden, so long attached to their status of neutrality, want to join it. 

The question of European sovereignty, which is not limited to defence, remains open. It is true that in the face of continental states that are asserting themselves on the planet, Europeans will not weigh in isolation, but will only be sovereign in union. This reality is likely to support them on their path to sovereignty.

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About the sovereignty of Europe

In his 2017 Sorbonne speech, President Macron has pleaded “for a sovereign, united, democratic Europe.” Four years have passed and France has chaired the Council of the European Union (EU) in the first half of 2022. On this occasion, the French presidency  aimed at advancing on the EU’s sovereignty. From the state of play, it emerges that, while the EU brings together elements of internal sovereignty, the Member States remain sovereign, and that, while the EU is a recognised actor in international relations, it does not have the sovereignty  which must rely on power.  

 

Since 2017, crises, especially the pandemic, have marked the world. The European Union has been able to overcome these crises by adding elements to its sovereignty, whether it be its budgetary capacity, the consolidation of the euro, the search for a greater industrial autonomy, the affirmation of its commercial interests, progress, albeit still insufficient, in the field of defence, and even in the judicial field, despite the crisis opened by Poland. However, the situation has not fundamentally changed and the question of Europe’s sovereignty remains open, either internally or in the face of the continental states that are imposing themselves on the international scene. 

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Newsletters

Newsletter of EuroDefense-Portugal – N19 JUL2022

The monthly publication of the EuroDefense-Portugal Newsletter, with content in Portuguese and the language in which the original articles were published, aims to bring to everyone’s attention the opinions of some experts on European Security and Defence, and on the issues that have marked the current month in Portugal, Europe and the world.

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Newsletter 12 of EuroDefense-España (1st quarter 2022)

Newsletter #12, issued in April 2022, was deeply affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24th February and the terrible images of destruction and death shown all over the media and social networks. This topic is covered at length in the Editorial of our Vice-president, General AF Federico Yaniz (R). Professor Jesús Martín Ramírez, member of ED-España, expresses his personal reflections on the conflict, in an article written right on the second day of the invasion. Colonel Juan López Díaz, SP Marines (R), member of ED-España, analyzes Russo-Chinese relations in the context of the invasion and the limits of China’s lukewarm support for Russia in the conflict. Finally, Ambassador Manuel de la Cámara (R), member of ED-España Board, analyzes the so-called “reasons” of the Russian President to invade a sovereign state and the most likely consequences of this conflict.

Another landmark of the quarter was the approval of the Strategic Compass by the European Council on 24th March, that kind of “white book” with which the EU intends to boost the CSDP. On this Newsletter there are two articles on this issue. In the first one, General Luis Feliu (R), member of ED-España, reflects, with a point of skepticism, on the Strategic Compass. In the second one, Admiral Juan Cuadrillero (R), member of ED-España Board and Editor of the Newsletter, confronts the final text of the document with some of the expectations raised last year during its drafting process.

 Newsletter 12 concludes referring the visits of ED-España to SENER Aerospace Company and to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the reviews of two books written by members of ED-España.

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