5th European Defence Round Table (EDRT): 'The Winter of Discontent’ - Russia's War on Ukraine and its consequences for the EU

Elena Lazarou, Head of Unit at the European Parliament Research Service, presented potential scenarios of the war in Ukraine. In her opinion what the EU is currently witnessing is an escalation of war, but, while efforts for a speedy delivery of the European Defence Union have tremendously increased, peace and/or ceasefire scenarios can be expected..

The urgency to deal with these geo-political changes was highlighted by Fabian Zuleeg, CEO of the European Policy Centre. According to him, the economic instability is creating social tensions, which might bring populist movements to power: “The ‘permacrisis’ will lead to a winter of discontent, which seriously jeopardises the EU’s values and interests.”

MEP Lukas Mandl pointed out the need for European leadership to explain to EU citizens the multiple crisis that it faces, the hardships that people must expect – and the solutions that could be envisaged in return. He deplored a lack of leadership and admonished political leaders to proceed to changes to the European Union’s decision-making mechanisms to make defence and security policy more effective and responsive.

According to Thomas Sohst, President of CESI’s statutory Expert Commission ‘Defence’, the human factor, including social policies, must be addressed when designing and implementing international and EU security policies: “With the ongoing escalation of conflict, the danger of war becomes real for everyone – and so are the needs of those women and men who are called upon to defend our countries in a real case scenario.”

Klaus Heeger, Secretary-General of CESI, emphasised the importance of unity: “Solidarity in times of war will also mean deprivation. We can and will cushion a lot, but not everything. And true leadership must prepare citizens to face hardships. I think most of the citizens are ready for that – because it also means that our values have a price tag.”

CESI continues to place a formalised European Defence Round Table in the heart of the EU’s political agenda, where all stakeholders, including trade unions, are consulted and heard in the making and shaping of security and defence policy. In support of these efforts, CESI’s Expert Commission ‘Defence’ adopted a position paper on the impacts of the war on the EU before this ERDT, as a basis for discussion.