Faced with the return of
Donald Trump as U.S. president in early 2025, the European Parliament debated on
November 13, 2024 how the E.U. should respond and, if needed, protect its
strategic interests with respect to Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine. “In
their debate, MEPs considered hw to engage with the new administration to address
challenges and leverage opportunities for both regions as the E.U. seeks stable
transatlantic relations.”[1]
The possibility of the incoming U.S. President pulling back on NATO and with
respect to contributing military supplies and money to Ukraine, and issuing protectionist
tariffs on imports from the E.U. had added urgency for the E.U. to come up with
ways of countering those external threats from the West just as Russia’s latest
forays into Ukraine were external threats from the East. On the same day, Josep
Borrell, the E.U.’s secretary of state/foreign minister/foreign policy “chief” “proposed
to formally suspend political dialogue with Israel over the country’s alleged
violations of human rights and international law in the Gaza strip.”[2]
This alone put the E.U. at odds with Israel’s stanchest defender/enabler, the
U.S., and with its incoming president, Donald Trump. From a human rights
standpoint alone, both with respect to the governments of Russia and Israel, the
trajectory of the E.U. in incrementally increasing its competencies (i.e.,
enumerated powers delegated by the state governments) in foreign policy and
especially in defense (given the new post of Defense Commissioner) was in
motion. The question was perhaps whether the E.U.’s typical incrementalism
would be enough to protect the E.U.’s strategic interests, which includes
protecting human rights at home and abroad. Fortunately, on the very same day,
Kaija Shilde, Dean of the Global Studies school at Boston University, spoke at
Harvard on the very question that I have just raised. I will present her view,
which will lead to my thoughts on how viewing the E.U. inaccurately as a mere
alliance harms the E.U.’s role internationally from within. That is to
say, the continuance of the self-inflicted wound, or category-mistake on what
the E.U. is, was compromising the jump forward in defense that the E.U. needed at
the time to more competently address the crisis in Ukraine.
The full essay is at "Advancing the E.U.'s Strategic Autonomy."
2. Shona Murray and Jorge Liboreiro, “Borrel Proposes to Suspend E.U.-Israel Political Talks over Gaza War,” Euronews.com, November 13, 2024.
