Impact of Russia-Ukraine Conflict on EU’s Foreign And Security Policy

The end of the Cold War marked the beginning of European Union’s ambitions in establishing a common European foreign policy. While the EU undoubtedly emerged as a global actor, with the use of mostly soft power of economic sanctions and military and civilian missions within the framework of Common Security and Defence Policy, its role in security and defence has been marginal. The common foreign and security policy of the European Union historically developed from the experience of conflicts and crises on the continent that provided windows of opportunity for European foreign policy to adapt and evolve. Year 2022 brought about perhaps the most challenging conflict of Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine that forced the European Union to rethink its security strategy in order to credibly respond to and resolve the Russian threat. This paper analyses the historical development of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and its instruments with focus on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its contributions to the change in EU’s foreign policy framework.