MILITARY POWER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION - DREAM OR REALITY

Abstract

The EU's military power has developed less successfully than its economic and political power. The European defense strategy in the post-war period was based on military dependence on the USA, which pursued its interests in Europe in relation to the Eastern Bloc. The end of the bloc division reduced the danger of conflict, and thus the need for military dependence on the USA. However, a series of armed conflicts in the Balkans represented a new danger that could threaten stability on the continent and justify the retention of US armed forces in Europe. The dominance of US military influence is reflected in the membership of European countries in NATO and the Partnership for Peace. The desire of the European Union to become the bearer of its own security represents the basic reasons for the creation of European military power.The creation of military forces and even for rapid EU interventions should have been a step on the way to creating EU military power and a stage in the development of the EU's unique armed forces.However, it remains an open question whether now that the environment has changed, and especially when the war is being waged on the territory of Europe, and that the position of global leader is already being lost, and the forces for rapid EU intervention that were formed are already under piecemeal and coordination of activities with NATO.