Page 22 - The European Union and the War on Ukraine

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in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter” (which
speaks about the right of individual or collective self-defence if an
armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations.). Thus,

the EU membership of a state at war is going to remain an open
question with significant controversies for the Union.

Concluding Remarks

Presumably, the ongoing war in Ukraine will trigger number of
important processes within the EU:

- The EU will be reshaped from the defence point of view. The
Union and its members will further endeavour towards strengthening
their military capabilities, increasing coordination and cohesion of

national defence policies. In addition, strengthened coordination in the
defence field may lead to introducing some elements of the future
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Defence Union.
- The war in Ukraine has eliminated decades-long differences

between the EU members in their approach to the Russian Federation.
From now on, the EU member states, to a great extent, will have the
common position on how to treat Russia and whether it may be
regarded as any kind of political and economic partner for the EU. This

in turn, may help the EU members to find common denominators for
other “open” international topics such as the Trans-Atlantic
cooperation, EU enlargement, various regional policies, including the
EU Eastern Partnership Initiative, etc.

26 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A12008M042
27 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/white-paper-future-europe_en
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