Ukraine’s aggression, war and humanitarian crisis have shaken consciences in Europe and around the world. The EU is moving, in all respects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“The EU and its international partners are united in condemning Putin’s aggression against Ukraine. We will offer support to those seeking refuge and help those seeking a safe way home. The EU will continue to offer substantial political, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine and to impose tough sanctions against Russia and those complicit in the war.”<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This incipit effectively sums up the position of the European Union and its solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It expresses a feeling of horror at the human tragedy, condemnation of the attack and full sympathy for the affected populations-a feeling that the Europlanning Guide, in its own small way, also wants to help confirm and spread.<\/span><\/p>\n
Dealing in depth with major international political issues or the evolution of the military and humanitarian emergency is beyond the scope of this Guide. However, we intend to show our closeness and commitment to this cause by disseminating some practical information and some interesting analyses in line with our scope of work.<\/span><\/p>\n
In fact, Europlanning is not “an island,” but acts in an ever-changing world-with the intention of improving it.<\/span><\/p>\n
In this first post devoted to this topic, we will analyze the position and actions of the main EU institutions, each carrying a different point of view on the Ukrainian crisis. As we shall see, even very large events such as this one have an important link to the world of europlanning.<\/span><\/p>\n
The European Commission: the practical aspects<\/b><\/h2>\n
The European Commission has opened a <\/span>\n page dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian crisis<\/span>\n<\/a>, from which we took the incipit of this article. A <\/span>\n calendar<\/span>\n<\/a> and a space dedicated to the <\/span>\n latest news<\/span>\n<\/a> make it possible to follow the European Commission’s action in the context of the crisis, which is often unclear to a public exposed to an increasing amount of shocking news and dramatic stories.<\/span><\/p>\n
The European Commission is the “operational arm” of the European Union. Its action is thus, by extension, the action of the European Union, and covers many complementary areas of action:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
- The <\/span>\n fight against disinformation<\/span>\n<\/a> (an aspect <\/span>\n always been fundamental<\/span>\n<\/a>, even more so in these times);<\/span><\/li>\n
- The <\/span>\n sanctions<\/span>\n<\/a> (to weaken the economic base of the war and increase its cost to the political elite);<\/span><\/li>\n
- Various actions and <\/span>\n mechanisms of assistance and aid<\/span>\n<\/a> humanitarian and civil protection (through the appropriate instruments <\/span>\n 1<\/span>\n<\/a> | <\/span>\n 2<\/span>\n<\/a> – equipped with additional emergency packages of 500 and 100 million euros, respectively); <\/span> <\/li>\n
- L’<\/span>\n activation<\/span>\n<\/a> of an appropriate <\/span>\n Temporary Protection Directive<\/span>\n<\/a> in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons to and between member states (to facilitate transit, support and assistance), supplemented by appropriate <\/span>\n operational guidelines<\/span>\n<\/a> for member states;<\/span><\/li>\n
- The activation of a page dedicated to <\/span>\n practical directions for support<\/span>\n<\/a> to populations fleeing Ukraine: <\/span>\n national authorities<\/span>\n<\/a> in charge, testimonies and who to contact (country by country) to <\/span>\n lend a hand<\/span>\n<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n
- The activation of a page dedicated to <\/span>\n practical guidance for fleeing populations<\/span>\n<\/a>: <\/span>\n what it takes<\/span>\n<\/a> to obtain refuge in the EU (very little if anything in the emergency situation), <\/span>\n the rights<\/span>\n<\/a> in terms of temporary protection, asylum, assistance in repatriation and in the <\/span>\n mobility in Europe<\/span>\n<\/a> to the country of destination.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
All of these pages are accessible in Ukrainian and Russian and show, in the most practical and concrete terms, what the European Union is doing to support the Ukrainian people and cope with the crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n
EU foreign policy: the strategic and military aspects<\/b><\/h2>\n
However, the Ukrainian crisis is not only a human tragedy but also an international political, diplomatic and military crisis, which falls within the remit of the <\/span>\n European External Action Service<\/span>\n<\/a> (EEAS) and the<\/span>\n High Representative<\/span>\n<\/a> EU.<\/span><\/p>\n
The EEAS website presents a <\/span>\n constantly updated collection<\/span>\n<\/a> of news, articles, videos and stories regarding the Ukrainian crisis. In particular, for better insight, we recommend reading the content articles in the <\/span>\n EU High Representative’s blog<\/span>\n<\/a> (<\/span>\n Josep Borrell<\/span>\n<\/a>), responsible for the European Union’s foreign policy. The blog is regularly updated and currently contains very timely and detailed posts on the following topics:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
- \n What is it and how to implement the “Strategic Compass”<\/span>\n<\/a> (see below);<\/span><\/li>\n
- \n The integration of Balkan countries into the EU in light of the current crisis.<\/span>\n<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n
- \n The implications of the war in Ukraine for the European Union.<\/span>\n<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n
- \n The future of Europe in light of the implications of the war in Ukraine.<\/span>\n<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n
- The importance of <\/span>\n defending and supporting Ukraine<\/span>\n<\/a> and to <\/span>\n resist attempts to rewrite the “rules of the game”<\/span>\n<\/a> by authoritarian countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The blog also collects other speeches, videos and interviews from the EU High Representative.<\/span><\/p>\n
The Strategic Compass<\/span><\/a>, the plan to strengthen the European Union’s security and defense policy, is one of the most important and recent innovations for the European Union. <\/span>Approved by the Council on March 21<\/span><\/a>, the Strategic Compass is a response triggered by the European Union’s foreign, security and defense policy challenges and weaknesses – highlighted most clearly by the Ukraine crisis, but <\/span>already evident and under discussion<\/span><\/a> long time.<\/span><\/p>\n
The Strategic Compass is presented in \n \n this video<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span> and in \n \n this document<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span> and summarized in various fact sheets: \n \n Strategic Compass<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n rapid intervention capability<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n Peace Facility<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n structured and permanent cooperation<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n military mobility<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n security and defense policy<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n partnership with the UN<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n partnership with NATO<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n marine security<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>, \n \n cybersecurity<\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/span>). All these aspects are further summarized in the four basic pillars of the Strategic Compass:<\/p>\n
\n
- “Act”<\/b> (rapid intervention capability for military and peacebuilding missions);<\/span><\/li>\n
- “Secure”<\/b> (ability to act on strategic security aspects, such as intelligence, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, manipulation attempts, space technologies, and seas);<\/span><\/li>\n
- “Invest”<\/b> (increased spending and technological capabilities in defense);<\/span><\/li>\n
- “Partners”<\/b> (greater understanding and collaboration with NATO, regional and global partners, and specific countries).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Of course, the Strategic Compass will also be called upon to address one of the great challenges of European defense, which is also one of the main priorities of the <\/span>\n European Defense Fund<\/span>\n<\/a>: to increase the effectiveness, coordination and coherence (including in technical and technological terms) of the military forces of individual European countries, which are far larger than the common European forces. Here a series of <\/span>\n questions and answers<\/span>\n<\/a> regarding this new tool.<\/span><\/p>\n
The European Parliament: the political aspects<\/b><\/h2>\n
The European Parliament has also opened a <\/span>\n page dedicated to supporting the Ukrainian crisis<\/span>\n<\/a>. Ukraine has been a priority partner of the European Union for years and benefits from various forms of support, including a <\/span>\n Association Agreement<\/span>\n<\/a> which establishes, among other things, a broad and generalized free area, various forms of political and financial support, increasing political dialogue, and gradual convergence toward European standards and policies in various areas (including security and defense).<\/span><\/p>\n
This Association Agreement was a key turning point in Ukraine’s rapprochement with the European Union and in the history of the current crisis: it was the failure of then-President Janukovy\u010d to sign the agreement at the turn of 2013-2014 that triggered the events known as “<\/span>Euromaidan<\/span><\/a>” and the subsequent <\/span>Ukrainian Revolution<\/span><\/a> of 2014. The Russian reaction to this “axis shift” toward the EU, which has been particularly evident and violent since 2022, actually lasts since 2014 with the<\/span>\n Russian annexation of Crimea<\/span>\n<\/a> and the <\/span>\n armed clashes in the Donbass area.<\/span>\n<\/a>. <\/span> <\/p>\n
The dedicated page of the European Parliament offers many particularly interesting insights, especially in understanding the political roots of the current crisis and the ensuing political debate:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
- A <\/span>\n news section<\/span>\n<\/a>, which makes it possible to follow the debate on various aspects related to the Ukrainian crisis, in a concise and timely manner;<\/span><\/li>\n
- A series of briefing papers on various issues that are concise and interesting. We report for example: a’<\/span>analysis<\/span><\/a> and a <\/span>collection of articles<\/span><\/a> of December 2021; analysis on aspects <\/span>military<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>international<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>food<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>energetic<\/span><\/a>, of <\/span>