Skip to content
Magazine
Friday, August 1, 2025
SUBSCRIBE
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
SUBSCRIBE

What has Europe learned from the one year of Russia’s brutal war?

Hilde Vautmans MEP by Hilde Vautmans MEP
16 March 2023
in Opinion

Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) What has Europe learned from over one year of Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine? What have we learned about our European project and how do we want it to move forward? For the EU to protect its interests and to preserve European security, it finally needs to become a single, united geopolitical player.

Ukraine must win the peace

Firstly, the EU must do whatever it takes to make sure that Ukraine wins the war and the peace. Because Ukraine is fighting an existential battle for its own survival, but also for our European values. The last month, Ukrainian President Zelensky, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and High Representative Josep Borrell all emphasized one thing: give Ukraine munition. We must provide Ukraine with whatever is necessary. Its victory and future, and therefore our European security depend on it.

Until now, however, Europe has only responded just before it is too late. The European Peace Facility that the Member States have used to deliver €3.6 billion worth of weapons and munition to Ukraine’s forces, is again depleted. Once more, the brave Ukrainian soldiers desperately had to wait for a meeting of EU defence ministers, and then for the European Council to refill the Peace Facility on the 24th of March. The soldiers defending their country in Bakhmut have no such time.

A common European defence for European security

That is why secondly, instead of short-term fixes, the EU needs long-term solutions for a common European defence. Not just for Ukraine’s security, but also for our European security. Just as we jointly purchased vaccines during the pandemic, Europe now finally needs to jointly buy weapons, as liberal Prime Minister Kaja Kallas recently proposed. Only then can the EU effectively coordinate and deliver what Ukraine urgently needs?

While we are providing Ukraine with much-needed weapons and munition, our own stocks are running out. While the Member States spend four times as much on defence as Russia does, they spend it on a multitude of different systems, 27 times. We cannot allow this fragmentation. Thus to enhance our European security for the future, we must ramp up our defence production and strengthen our defence sector. And yes, ministers and the European Commission will propose measures to support the industry. But instead of plans that have been discussed for years, we now need implementation.

And these steps should lead to a real European army, including intelligence and boots on the ground. If not with the war on our European continent, across our border, when will it ever be the right time? Our Member States and our political leaders need to gather the political courage to start implementing one European army.

One common response

A third lesson is that for the security and interests of our European citizens, we cannot allow Europe to be a geopolitical playing field, and to let our dependencies be used against us. In the era of great powers, with Russia’s brutal invasion and intimidation tactics and China’s pro-Russian ‘peace proposal’ for the war, we must instead play our own role as a great power.

That requires unity. We must remain united in our response to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine but also act as one Union against an assertive China. This is precisely what the European Parliament called for, as it adopted my report on the EU-China strategy. Yes, we should try to address global challenges with China on climate change and global health. But we must always stand up for our values and condemn China’s systemic violations of human rights. And we can only do so when we act united.

Because make no mistake: China is a systemic rival that poses a challenge to our European way of life and our liberal world order. We should therefore not be blind to China’s increasingly assertive policies, and the Communist Party’s political agenda. China will use our weaknesses against us, as it did when it coerced European companies that had cut supply chains with Xinjiang, following concerns about forced labour in the region.

Europe has been naive for too long. Our dependency on fossil fuels made us vulnerable to blackmail from Russia’s dictatorial regime. Let us not make the same mistake with China. Even more so than Russia, Europe dangerously depends on China for critical raw materials that are essential for our green and digital ambitions. Almost all products that will be essential to our economy in the near future use these materials: from electric cars, solar panels, and chips, to mobile phones. For 98% of our rare piles of earth supply and 93% of our magnesium supply, we rely on China.

If strategic autonomy is to be more than just a theoretical concept, we have to rapidly reduce our dependencies and start working on the European Commission’s proposal for a “Critical Raw Materials Act”. To protect our values in a world of great powers, this autonomy needs to be paired with one single voice on the international stage, with real military power.

Finally, Ukraine is fighting for our European values. We owe it to them to support them as much as we can. To do so effectively, we need to build a stronger Europe, a more united Europe, and a geopolitical Europe.

.

Related News:

  • Animal protection wants legal action against hard-learned pet owners
  • One year of war in Ukraine forced over 8M people to seek refuge in Europe
  • Traders go to city hall to discuss circulation plan :’Brutal transition’
  • Brutal Assault Unfolds as Onlookers Stand Powerless
Tags: Brussels LatestNewsOpinion section
Next Post
Woman exercise workout in gym fitness breaking relax holding apple fruit after training sport with dumbbell and protein shake bottle healthy lifestyle bodybuilding, Athlete builder muscles lifestyle.

What diseases should we watch out for when exercising?

Latest post

EU-elections-UK

EU elections: UK looks on from the “outside”

1 year ago
Galeries-Royales-Saint-Hubert

What Makes Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert an “Institution”?

1 year ago

Most Read

    Follow Brussels Morning
    Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

    Browse Important News

    Belgium News
    Brussels News
    Culture and Society News
    Economy News
    EU Institutions News
    European Commission News
    European Council News
    European Parliament News
    Europe News
    Health And Fitness News
    Southeast Europe News
    Sustainable Perspective
    World News
    Diplomacy News
    US Elections News

    About Us

    Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

    More Info

    • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookies Policy

    Join Our Newsletter

    Brussels Morning Newspaper – All Rights Reserved © 2024

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Belgium News
      • Belgium Police News
      • Brussels News
    • Brussels Bubble
      • European Parliament News
      • European Commission News
      • European Council News
    • Wider Europe
      • Member States
    • World News
    • Business & Society
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Culture & Society
    • Policy Talks
      • Place de la Bourse
      • The Macro-Economist
      • Sustainable Perspective
      • Ambassador’s Corner
      • The American Angle
      • Southeast Europe
    • Print Magazine

    Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT