EU MONITOR: Tři zásadní momenty v evropské bezpečnosti za rok 2019.

2019 will be regarded with hindsight as a pivotal year for European security. In the space of twelve months, the European political scene has changed significantly and seen a host of fresh challenges and complications emerge that may make the coming five-year cycle in European politics a very transformative time indeed. With the election of a new European executive and parliament, ongoing tensions in the transatlantic relationship, severe challenges emerging for NATO both within and without its membership, and the sudden certainty of Brexit in the next six weeks following the landslide result of the United Kingdom’s December election, it is clear that 2019 has been as turbulent as it has been dramatic.

It is also apparent that despite this ongoing period of great change, there are certain fundamental issues remaining at the heart of the European project that could jeopardize the Union’s legitimacy and capability in the near future if not addressed more holistically than has previously been the case.

This paper aims to address three crucial aspects of existing challenges to European security which require immediate corrective action on the part of the EU, lest they develop into even greater threats in 2020. European security is understood, in this instance, to refer to both the traditional understanding of security as the sovereignty and integrity of individual Member States from external aggression, as well as the broader integrity of the European project and its continued viability and capability as a global and regional actor.