اتحادیه اروپا

In the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century, few nations have ascended as dramatically as China. Over the past few decades, China has transitioned from a largely agrarian economy to a dominant global economic powerhouse, now recognized as the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. This rapid economic development is accompanied by a commensurate rise in political clout, elevating China’s status as a central player in international relations. As a result, China’s role in the global order has undergone a significant transformation, influencing not only its regional neighbors but also the broader international community. This shift has profound implications, particularly for entities like the European Union (EU), which find themselves navigating new and complex dynamics in the face of China’s growing influence.The European Union, as a unique political and economic entity composed of multiple member states, possesses a diverse range of interests and challenges in its relations with China. The EU's approach to China is shaped by its dual objectives on one hand, to harness the economic opportunities presented by a burgeoning Chinese market and, on the other, to address pressing concerns related to human rights violations, security threats, and the broader geopolitical ramifications of China’s actions. The EU has embarked on a nuanced strategy to engage with China, seeking to balance economic cooperation with the need to uphold its values and principles, particularly in response to issues such as civil liberties, environmental standards, and the territorial integrity of nations.This evolving relationship between the EU and China is not without its challenges. The EU must navigate a landscape filled with competing interests, both internally and externally. Member states of the EU have divergent views toward China based on their historical ties, economic dependencies, and individual strategic priorities. This fragmentation poses a significant challenge to forging a cohesive and effective European strategy toward China. Furthermore, the rise of nationalism and populism within several EU member states complicates the landscape, as these political movements often advocate for a more cautious or confrontational stance toward external powers, including China.Parallel to these dynamics is the Islamic Republic of Iran, which finds itself in a unique position due to its strategic geographic location and vast natural resource wealth, particularly in oil and gas. Iran has recognized the potential benefits of fostering closer ties with China within the broader context of its foreign policy. The historical animosities stemming from Western sanctions have led Iran to seek alternative partnerships to bolster its economy and enhance its geopolitical standing. In recent years, Iran has made significant strides in deepening its engagements with China, viewing it as a priority partner capable of counterbalancing Western influence and providing vital economic support.This burgeoning relationship is particularly pronounced in light of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. Although the deal faced significant challenges, particularly after the United States’ withdrawal in 2018, China emerged as a crucial player in supporting Iran diplomatically and economically. Beijing’s involvement has fueled expectations in Tehran regarding Chinese investment in infrastructure, energy projects, and trade relations. As Iran grapples with the ramifications of international sanctions, the potential for a mutually beneficial partnership with China has become increasingly attractive.However, this deepening relationship is not without its complexities and potential pitfalls. The shifting dynamics of international politics, including the EU's recalibration of its foreign policy toward China, could significantly impact Iran’s strategic calculations. As the EU seeks to reassert its influence in Asia through initiatives like the Global Gateway and its own Indo-Pacific strategy, Iran may face new diplomatic challenges. The EU is likely to weigh its economic interests in China against the value of a principled stance on issues like human rights and regional security, potentially complicating Iran's position.Moreover, the broader geopolitical landscape marked by the U.S.-China rivalry adds another layer of complexity to the EU-Iran-China triangle. As the United States attempts to counter China's growing influence, it may adopt strategies that compel its allies, including EU members, to reassess their relationships with China. This could force Iran to navigate tenuous waters, balancing its partnerships with both China and the EU while remaining vigilant about being caught in the crossfire of great power competition.This multifaceted interaction between the EU, China, and Iran brings us to the core objectives of this research. The first objective is to analyze the key political and economic strategies that the EU employs in its dealings with China. This investigation will focus on the EU's engagements, including trade partnerships, investment agreements, and collaborative initiatives aimed at addressing global challenges such as climate change and public health. Understanding these strategies allows for a comprehensive assessment of how the EU seeks to influence China while safeguarding its interests.The second objective centers on examining the implications of the EU’s China policies on Iran's foreign and economic strategies. This involves scrutinizing how shifts in the EU’s approach toward China could impact Iran’s attempts to leverage its relations with Beijing for economic gains and strategic support in the context of its broader geopolitical ambitions. It is essential to consider how Iran perceives the EU’s stance toward China and whether this perception translates into strategic adjustments in its own foreign policy.Ultimately, this research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay among these three important geopolitical actors. By delving into the evolving relationships between the EU, China, and Iran, we can shed light on the possible future trajectories of their interactions and the impacts on regional and global stability. The goal is to offer insights that not only inform scholars and policymakers but also contribute to a more comprehensive dialogue about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in this dynamic triad.

Immigration has experienced a significant surge in the past few decades as a result of a variety of factors. The proximity of Europe to critical regions, such as the Middle East and North Africa, has resulted in an increase in the immigration of Muslims to Europe since 2015. However, in recent years, extreme right-wing and racist tendencies have gained traction in nearly all European countries. Some extreme right-wing parties and Western media have used immigrants, particularly Muslims, as a convenient scapegoat, characterizing them as threats to their identity, values, culture, and economy. This study analyzed the perception of Europeans toward Muslim immigrants to determine whether the immigration of Muslims to the European Union (EU) is a genuine or fabricated threat. This was a descriptive-analytical study that employed the Copenhagen school as the theoretical framework. The study findings indicated that the immigration of Muslims to European countries is predominantly a threat fabricated by certain politicians.

In March 2003, the European Commission established a new policy with the title "New Neighborhood Policy of the European Union", which was later renamed "European Union Neighborhood Policy". The main goal of this policy was to expand peace and security and economic development and democracy in neighboring countries in order to stabilize and develop stability and security within the European Union. The ENP is designed to give new impetus to cooperation with the EU’s neighbours following enlargement.The ENP should reinforce the EU’s contribution to promoting the settlement of regional conflicts. Although the European Neighborhood Policy has been an effective policy in creating a peaceful environment across Europe, the implementation of its instruments must take into account the expectations of other major actors who have vital interests in that particular region. This research tries to explain the active regional policies of the European Union under the European Neighborhood Policy, which is considered by Russia as a security threat. The aim of the current research is to investigate the European Union's neighborhood policy under the theory of normative power of this Union in relation to the Ukraine crisis.In this article, using a descriptive-analytical research method and based on library studies and reliable internet sources, by analyzing the approach of the European Union towards Ukraine, it is concluded that the policy of the European Union negatively led to the escalation of tension in the region, which in turn The operation of the neighborhood policy itself has also disrupted it.

The incoherence of the institution of the European Union despite its expansion and fragmentation after the collapse of the bipolar system on the one hand and the European disintegration with the occurrence of Brexit 2 in the history of this union and the subsequent crisis (Covid 19) 3 and the process of globalization on the other hand cohesion and constructive role And its positiveness has been severely questioned in the joint administration by elite centers and think tanks.
This situation is such that today's important security issues as the center of gravity of this union in the continuation of the trend towards NATO or the creation of a pillar of European military security or the strengthening of unilateral authorities, considering the two regional crises of Ukraine and Gaza and Lebanon in The Middle East and the intensification of competition with China have become very important in the future of the international system.
In this regard, Europe's tendency towards extremism of nationalism in the future governance process, following the policies of the United States has weakened Europe's foundations of the Treaty of Westphalia4 and its obvious weakness in adopting dual policies and self-censorship against the realities of human rights and true democracy. Terrorism, especially state terrorism, has doubled the addiction to sanctions policies.
Therefore, the European Union has determined its relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran according to the data mentioned above, with the parameters of need and superiority, despite the understanding of Iran's civilizational sphere from the wavelength path of economy and trade as a tool of pressure and authority. Nizami views nuclear power as a threat to international peace and security, and finally views human rights as the source of supremacy.
Undoubtedly, the continuation of such a process will not result in anything other than the continuation of hostile approaches against the Islamic Republic of Iran!

Russia-Ukraine interaction in the last decade has been effective in Iran-EU relations. After America's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Russia was Iran's partner in reducing pressure on the international scene. The lack of support from Moscow leaves Tehran without an effective supporter against the West. Revival of the JCPOA is the cornerstone of Iran's relations with the European Union so that the US can be forced to return to the JCPOA. However, Iran's support for Russia has increased the tension in Iran's relations with this union. The article's main question is why Iran's military interactions with Russia in the Ukraine war have removed geo-economics from the EU's relations with Iran. The research hypothesizes that from the point of view of the European Union, Iran seeks to strengthen Russia's hegemonic position in Europe with its support of Russia. This article, using the documentary method and the use of library and internet resources, and using the theoretical model of decentralized globalism, concludes that between the possible economic gains resulting from this war (geoeconomics) and the long-term benefits of convergence with Russia (geopolitics), Iran inevitably chooses the second option. This choice makes the future of Tehran's relations with the European Union challenging.

In recent decades, efforts have been made by the international community as well as at the regional and national levels to manage climate change. In terms of managing this phenomenon, the European Union follows a comprehensive program (European Green Deal) in its list of priorities. The final goal and innovation of this descriptive-analytical article is to present a local model based on the above agreement in Iran. With this main question, is Peyman Sabz able to be localized in our country, considering the climatic conditions and other special conditions of Iran? And the assumption that although the Green Pact is capable of extraterritorial implementation and the legal frameworks of our country support such a model to deal with climate change, but due to the different conditions governing the European Union and Iran, it is simply not possible to model it in our country. As a result, despite the comprehensiveness of this design, it cannot be used as an Iranian version. Climatic differences, the level of technology, the resources of Europe and Iran and finally the huge costs of implementing this plan in our country, especially due to the financial and technical limitations caused by sanctions, make its implementation face serious challenges. Nevertheless, it seems that this plan can be considered as an ideal horizon that can be modified in the native conditions of Iran.

This article examines the impacts of identity and energy on Turkey's accession process to the European Union. Given the increasing importance of energy resources and Turkey's geographical position as an energy bridge, as well as the role of cultural and political identity in EU policymaking, this paper aims to explore how these two factors influence the decision-making of European countries regarding Turkey's membership. The main focus of this article is on the varying attitudes of EU member states and how these attitudes affect Turkey-EU relations. By concentrating on identity and energy, this study seeks to enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities in these relationships and analyzes the various dimensions of these impacts. The central question is: how do the two paradigms of energy and identity affect Turkey's accession to the European Union? Analyses indicate that cultural and social identity has played a more significant role in European decision-making. The findings suggest that while Europe has pursued various policies to secure energy resources, the cultural and identity-related concerns regarding Turkey significantly complicate its collective identity.

This article's primary focus is AI policymaking in the European Union. For this purpose, one examined the foundations, approach, and mode of governance and emphasized ethical principles. Focusing on the EU can be vital as this region is a pioneer in regulating emerging digital technologies and platforms. The European Union is trying to regulate artificial intelligence technologies and companies providing artificial intelligence services through its legislation and policies. The article analyzed the content of documents related to artificial intelligence in Europe using the document analysis approach and qualitative content analysis. This article showed that considering the fundamental principles, formulating a general approach, considering ethical principles, and devising a governance system appropriate to each society's background conditions is necessary for applying artificial intelligence for national interests and reducing its potential risks.

Digital content and services are data that are concluded and offered in the form of content contracts and digital services between sellers and consumers. It should be noted that consumers of digital products are not meant to purchase online to be subject to the Electronic Commerce Rules. On one hand, regulations of Electronic Commerce  Law date back to a decade ago and certainly it cannot cover all new technical and legal aspects in this field. Online shopping is just one of methods to receive digital services and content. Accordingly, receiving digital services and content is not merely online shopping and there is an absolute generality and peculiarity relation between them. When a book is bought online, it is not a digital content but it is an online shopping. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the objective of this study is to answer the following question: considering novelty, what are the legal and technical dimensions of digital services and content contracts? In most modern legal systems such as the European Union, consumers of digital services and content are legally protected as the weaker contractual party. In this regard, Iran’s legal system should insert regulations in Electronic Commerce Law regarding the imperative responsibilities of producers of digital services and content to protect consumer rights as the weaker contractual party.

The best reason for the creation of the European Union can be found in the writings of French Jean Monnet, who is called the father of the European Union. He believed that sharing natural resources among European countries and creating a new power (European Commission) could lay the first foundations of the European Federation to maintain peace in this continent. The cornerstone of European unity was the European Community, the process of its formation goes back to the announcement of Robert Schuman, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the joint plan for coal and steel, which Jean Monnet was the creator and designer of, and Schuman, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, accepted the responsibility for its design. Five years after World War II in 1950, France offered full participation in all French and German coal and steel production. Three decades after the Treaty of Rome, the European Union took an important step in including human rights in its foreign policy, and this matter entered into the implementation stage with the signing of the Treaty of European Union in November 1993. This treaty considers the development and consolidation of democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as one of the objectives of the common foreign and security policy; Therefore, it seems that human rights play an important role in both the foreign and domestic policies of the European Union. Also, since the early 1990s, the European Union has included human rights clauses in its cooperation and bilateral trade agreements with third countries and partnership agreements. Based on the model approved by the Council of Ministers in May 1995, the observance of human rights and democratic principles is the focus of the internal and external policies of the parties to the contract and the essential part of any agreement with third countries. In addition, according to the Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force on May 1, 1997, EU member states have established a mechanism to sanction countries that commit serious and persistent violations of human rights. The Treaty of Nice, which was concluded in December 2000, further strengthened this mechanism. The issue of human rights has always been one of the most important influencing variables in the foreign policy of the European Union in different regions and towards different actors. What effect has the variable of human rights had on the relations between the European Union and the Middle East? forms the subject of this research; Therefore, the main question of this research is what is the position of human rights in the foreign policy of the European Union towards the countries of the Middle East? The findings of this article show that, contrary to what is stated, human rights are used as a completely political tool in order to expand the soft power of the European Union. In other words, the issue of human rights for the European Union is more than a normative issue, it is a tool to achieve political goals and increase soft power. This article tries to investigate this issue with an analytical approach. The European Union places great emphasis on human rights in its foreign relations, including the Middle East policy. The European Union is committed to promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law around the world. This commitment is reflected in various policies, including promoting the rights of women, children, minorities, and refugees, opposing the death penalty, torture, human trafficking, and discrimination, and defending civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. The European Union has adopted a strategic framework for human rights and democracy, which outlines the principles, goals and priorities for improving the effectiveness and consistency of its human rights policies. In addition, the European Union is preparing to sign the European Convention on Human Rights, which emphasizes its commitment to human rights. However, it is important to note that in practice, EU policies and actions have been criticized for falling short in some areas such as immigration and the government's response to racism and violence. The position of human rights in the European Union's Middle East policy is discussed with a liberal approach and is used as a tool to expand soft power in the framework of public diplomacy of this Union. Human rights can be seen as a tool of EU soft power, which is a diplomatic strategy that aims to achieve desirable results by attracting foreign governments to come closer to EU values. The Union has a comprehensive toolkit that allows it to implement and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. Among these things, the following can be mentioned:Cultural diplomacy: Exchange of ideas through music, film or art can be used to promote human rights and EU values. Economic cooperation: cooperation in the economic field is a very good tool to use the soft power of the European Union; Because it can help as a precondition for expanding economic cooperation and creating common interests and values ​​between partner countries. Eastern Partnership Program: This program aims to transition to democratic governance in countries such as Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia, and has had successful results in promoting human rights and democratic values ​​in the region. However, the use of human rights tools and instruments can raise criticisms such as accusations of neo-colonialism or encroachment on national sovereignty. Despite these challenges, the European Union continues to use human rights as a tool for soft power and strives to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in different regions of the world.

The collection of political, legal and economic activities, actions and decision-making in order to preserve and restore the environment is referred to as environmental policy-making. On the eve of the third decade of the 21st century, the crisis of climate change and environmental security has been mentioned as the main threat to humanity. Regional environmental policy-making have been able to be more efficient than global environmental policy-making in terms of climate change prevention and control in regions. The participation of regional actors, being more technical and specialized are among the characteristics of regional environmental policy-making that are formed under the banner of environmental regionalism. The European Green Deal is the latest environmental policy-making of the European Union, which is different and distinct from previous environmental policy-making. This research aims to firstly explain environmental regionalism and the advantages of regional environmental policy-making and then investigate the nature of the Green Deal. Also, by examining the background of the issue of environmental policy in Europe, explain why and the necessity of adopting the Green Deal and finally analyze the distinctions of this Deal and its future. In this research, analytical-explanatory method and primary and secondary sources are used to answer the questions: What is the European Green Deal and how does it differ from other environmental policy-making? And what is the importance of environmental policy-making and environmental regionalism? And what will be the future of the European Union in terms of climate change and environmental policy-making? Used.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe relied on Russia for its energy needs. But Russia, after the war, in response to the economic sanctions imposed by the European Union and the West, cut off the export of 80% of its natural gas to Europe. As a result, Europe is currently looking for new sources for its energy supply, and in the meantime, Iran can play an important role due to its wealth of resources and special geographical location. The basic question of this article is: What opportunities and challenges has the Ukraine war created for the energy relations between Iran and the European Union? The hypothesis that is raised following this question: The outbreak of the war in Ukraine, on the one hand, has raised Iran as an alternative source of energy supply for Europe, and, on the other hand, considering the strategic cooperation between Iran and Russia in order to the reduction of Western sanctions has added to the complexity of the situation. The research findings indicate that Russia needs to take over the markets of Iran's main energy customers, including China and India, in order to compensate for the lost European market. In addition, US sanctions and Iran's disturbed relations with the West also prevent the establishment of active energy diplomacy between this country and the European Union. This article is written in a descriptive-analytical method and the data was prepared using the library method and data collection.

As a large and influential union, the European Union is the only international organisation in the world whose relationship with it is as important as the relationshipwith the member statesof thisorganisation.International relations have shown that since the beginning of the nuclear crisis, the European Unionhaspresented itself as one of themain parties to the solution of the Iranian nuclear issue, and this issue has beenaccepted by Iran. Rather,ithasbeen accompanied by ups and downs, and in some periods it has turned cold.This article tries toexamine the relations between Iran and the European Union before and after the JCPOA using the descriptive and analytical method.The question that can be asked in this article is that the approach of the European Union and the three countries What has happened to England, France andGermany inthe development of relations withIran since the formation of the JCPOA? In response, we can hypothesise thatat the time of the formation of the JCPOA, the European Union and the three prominent countries of England,FranceandGermany along with the United States had a common approach; however,after Trump came to power and withdrew from the JCPOA, the European Union tried toforce the other parties tocomply with the clauses mentioned inthe JCPOA.However,with the return of primary and secondary sanctionsfromthe United States, the European Union was forced to adopt a passive andaligned approach with the UnitedStatesThe results of the research indicate that the three European countries,together with the United States,intendto maintain the measures related to nuclear proliferation and the arms and missile embargo against Iran.

Politics in Europe is currently witnessing the increasing emergence of political parties that are considered as right-wing extremists, or right-wing radicals. Social and economic issues, along with the increase in social dissatisfaction, have led to the rise in popularity of far-right movements. The Brexit trend is increasingly linked to right-wing parties in France seeking to exit the European Union, and its impact on French right-wing parties' desire to leave the EU is deep and extensive. Nationalism and anti-EU sentiments of these groups are strengthening, sparking discussions on the practical aspects of a potential Brexit that may challenge the structure of the EU. As Brexit continues to shape the political landscape in Europe, monitoring how these parties navigate the complex path to achieve their goals will be crucial.

After about four decades since the initial step, the Ankara agreement, the relations between Turkey and the European Union are still in a state of struggling over Turkey's eligibility to join the EU. In recent decades, this relationship has seen many changes, and there is still ambiguity and uncertainty about the end of this relationship. Turkey that has been considered one of the strategic allies of the European Union, is in the process of becoming a member of the EU, and sinusoidal negotiations of the parties have been the dominant framework in bilateral relations. In this regard, the current role of the army in Turkey's policies has been as the most important part of the EU membership process, as the army considers itself to be the protector of the republic and its principles in Turkey that is result of the past years. Because it is completely against the principles of the EU and opposing the interference of the military in politics, this feature has become a complex puzzle in the Turkey-EU bilateral relations. On this basis, in the process of Turkey's membership, the European Union has strongly sought to reform military-civilian relations in Turkey, and civilian control on military organizations. Democratization of military-civilian relations and control of civilians in military institutions has been one of the most important political issues raised in this process. With the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party, AKP, this process has continued at a faster pace in the domestic and foreign spheres.

Analyzing the policies of the European Union in the Middle East and the world, indicate the existence of fundamental weaknesses in both the strategic and operational levels of this institution's activism. With a quick look at the problem, it can be seen that the lack of software and hardware balance in the general and regional strategy of the European Union is one of the most important reasons for creating such a situation; To the extent that european policy makers, aware of this fact, at the same time as signing the “Maastricht Treaty” in 1992, talked about the necessity of strengthening the hard power of the European Union in theory, and then started their practical movement in this regard. Although this goal remained at the declarative and theoretical level in the 1990s, upon entering the 21st century, it took on an operational aspect, and at the same time, the idea of smartening was extended to the European Union's Middle East strategy. since, it is expected that the European Union's focus on this area will continue in coming decades. In this case, the Middle East region will increasingly become a place for the implementation of European Union hardware ideas, and this issue will have a direct impact on Iran's interests in the region. Therefore, the continuous review of European Union activities in the region helps Iran to be aware of the challenges and opportunities arising from this as much as possible. Considering the importance and impact of soft power and hard power balancing of the European Union's general and Middle East strategy for Iran, the main issue of this article is to evaluate the performance of the European Union in order to realize the smartness of the general and Middle East strategy of this institution.

Research question: 

What are the solutions of the European Union to make its general and Middle East strategy smarter?

Research hypothesis: 

European Union using various theoretical and practical tools such as “Strategic Compass”, “European Rapid Reaction Force” and … to strengthen its hard power and in this way tries to make its general and regional action smarter.

Methodology and theoretical framework: 

In this research, Joseph Nye's smart power theory has been used to test the hypothesis and examine the status of soft power and hard power of the European Union. The term smart power refers to the combination of hard power and soft power strategies. Also, the qualitative method, based on content analysis and the approach of historical-comparative analysis and data collection from historical documents, has been used.

The findings of this research is that the European Union, although due to reasons such as the lack of unity of opinion among its member states, insufficient hardware capacities, dependence on third parties such as the United States of America and NATO, and the existence of strong regional and global competitors, is still far from becoming an smart power; Since the Maastricht Treaty, it has acted in various ways to strengthen its hard power and has taken verifiable efforts in order to increase the smartness of its general and Middle East strategy. As far as we can say, the European Union's presence in the world and the Middle East has become smarter than it was three decades ago. For Iran, this brings challenges such as increasing the security weight of Iran's regional rivals such as the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the security strategy of the European Union and opportunities such as the use of Iran's operational capacities in security fields such as border management and combating all types of smuggling.

For the reasons mentioned throughout the article, since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, using theoretical and practical hardware tools such as the Strategic Compass, the EU Military Committee, and by launching missions and operations such as operation Althea and joint naval maneuvers with third countries in areas such as the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea have started a gradual movement in line with the smartening of the general strategy. The efforts made in order to strengthen the hard power of the European Union in the region and the world, although it has recorded a growing trend, it still does not have the necessary compatibility with the global geopolitical pressures and the realities ruling the region. This means that despite the fact that the European Union has started moving in the direction of smartening its general and regional strategy, in recent years it has intensified the measures related to this area numerically and has continued this movement; But due to the problems that mentioned, it is still far from reaching the standards of a real smart power. According to the points mentioned in relation to the consequences of smartening the European Union's general and Middle East strategy, Iran can benefit from the hardware presence of the European Union in the region to create initiatives in some areas such as managing border affairs and combating all types of smuggling by inviting this institution to join such initiatives. In the field of confrontation, considering the European Union's focus on maritime security and specifically the key waterways of the Middle East and its adjacent regions, it is necessary to take measures such as strengthening Iran's maritime and land capabilities in order to help manage the borders better and increase dominance over the key water ways of the region.

The crisis between the world powers in Ukraine began when Viktor Yanukovych, the country's former president, refused to sign a free trade and cooperation agreement with the European Union aimed at building closer ties with Russia. On February 22, 2014, following street protests against the government and the deterioration of the internal situation in Ukraine, Yanukovych was removed from the presidency by a vote of the Ukrainian parliament. Following these events, the “Crimean Peninsula” was occupied by Russian forces under the title of protecting the Russians of this autonomous region. A few days after these events, the people of the Crimean Peninsula declared their 96% approval to join Russia in a national referendum and the peninsula officially became part of Russian territory. After this incident, the scope of differences between the two countries remained and manifested itself in different ways until finally the war between the two countries started in 2022 and the field and military conflict has continued until now.

Research Question: 

How did the European Union react to the security crisis in Ukraine from 2014 to 2023 in relation to Russia?

Research Hypothesis: 

The hypothesis is that the European Union’s response to security threats between 2014 and 2023 was due to the lack of a coherent security and defense policy against Russia's uncompromising policy towards the developments in Ukraine, a result other than the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014 is the escalation of conflicts in the Donbass and the Sea of Azov and finally the field war and the annexation of the eastern regions of Ukraine to Russia by 2023.

Methodology and Theoretical Framework: 

In this article, based on a qualitative method and a systematic review, we examine the issue in the context of the concept of acting and lack of acting. The tools for collecting data and information were based on the existing method in the library format and the use of reliable internet sources.The European Union is considered as an important actor in the international community and according to the developments of the international system, it seeks to play a positive role and improve its position in various fields. Therefore, in an attempt to critically evaluate the performance of the European Union in response to security threats in the Ukraine crisis, we use the concept of activism as used by Burston and Volger in 2006. Activism has been a central concept in EU foreign policy since 1977. This concept refers to the active and conscious capacity of the European community in relation to other actors of the international system and the response to external crises, such as the Ukraine crisis is fully applicable to the concept of European activism. The acting parameters considered by Barston and Volger namely “Opportunities, Presence and capabilities” are designed for the international system. These parameters examine the strengths and weaknesses of the European Union as a provider of security in Eastern Europe. Thus, it is an assessment of the EU's ability to influence foreign relations by shaping the “perceptions, expectations and behaviors of other actors in international politics”. Therefore, the parameters of “opportunity, presence and ability” can show the evaluation criteria of the active European Union in the field of providing security and capabilities of this actor in the Ukraine crisis.

According to the findings, the European Union’s behavior towards the Ukraine crisis has changed from a passive actor to an influential one, but their uncoordinated defense behavior so far has been nothing but the imposition of sanctions, the establishment of a joint security and defense mission in November 2014, the Eastern Partnership program and the use of all-out support for Ukraine to counter Russia's powerful role.

This article, from November 2013, describes a series of important points in the gradual evolution of the conflict in Ukraine, including: Yanukovych’s decision not to sign the accession agreement, the emergence of the internal crisis and the fall of Yanukovych’s government, the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the war in Donbas and the downing of the plane MH17 and finally, it examines the war in Ukraine due to the lack of EU role before the war and the active role of Ukraine after the war. During the annexation of Crimea, the EU played the role of a neutral actor with no interest in the crisis and despite the EU’s continued peace-building efforts, which were carried out through the launch of a special mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in November 2014, due to its powerful role in Central Eurasia and Ukraine, the Kremlin was able to defeat the Union in this security crisis as it achieved its goals in this regard by annexing Crimea and building a bridge connecting Crimea and the Russian mainland in May 2018. As a result, by wasting the opportunity, presence and ability, the European Union failed to demonstrate the international community’s expectations for an effective role in the Ukraine crisis as well as in the Balkan conflicts. Even as Donbass elections in November 2018 confirmed Russia’s annexation, EU officials like Mogherini only condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine. However, after the start of the war in Ukraine, the reactions of the European Union were accompanied by many changes and created the impression that it would distant itself from neutrality and passivity and will fully support this country.

The war between Russia and Ukraine is one of the most serious crises that the European Union has faced after World War II. This war has affected all political, economic, social and security sectors of this union. As a buffer country with a geopolitical and geostrategic position between three powers, namely the European Union, Russia and the United States, Ukraine is of great importance and any action and movement requires the sensitivity of these three powers and their mutual reactions. According to John Mearsheimer, the moves made by the United States to expand NATO to the east are the main reason for Russia's attack on Ukraine. This war, with the asymmetric pressure of the crisis on the member states of this union, has increased the platform for the politicization of national identities and the combination of these two factors, along with the low competence of transnational institutions, has caused differences in the views of European countries to reach a common policy. 

Research question: 

The main question of this article is what were the consequences of the Ukrainian war crisis on the European Union?

Methodology and theoretical framework: 

The current research has used the method of future research and scenario writing. Scenario writing is one of the basic techniques of future research method that focuses on creating and reconstructing future events and trends based on the collected evidence, data and information. In scenario-based planning, several distinct scenarios must be prepared in order to cover a wide range of different futures and obtain a reliable approximation of future trends and realities. The existing limitations on the number of scenarios are mostly due to the perceptual, analytical and cognitive limitations of humans and not the limitations related to the complexities of the real world. Scenarios always contain some contents that challenges our worldview and mental structure, otherwise we will remain locked in the same old mental structure and have to face its unfortunate consequences.

This invasion is considered to be the largest conventional military attack on European soil since World War II and it is referred to as the new crisis of the European Union. This crisis has revealed most of the realities and weaknesses of this union in political, economic, social and security fields. The European Union is a united body in the form of economic-political regionalism and multi-level governance consisting of 27 European countries. The initiators of the European Union integration plan claimed that the national sovereignty of the governments would be replaced by collective decision-making and the independent role of the Parliament, the Commission and other EU institutions. In the past decades, this union has faced crises such as economic crisis, debt, immigration, Brexit, Corona, the discussion of the limits of the powers, competences of the European Union and its institutions towards the member states has been one of the basic issues.Although according to some experts, the emergence of challenges and crises helps to transform and strengthen the unity in this union, but the war in Ukraine and its political, economic, security and social consequences, not only did not help this process, but also highlighted the role of the state over national differences and led to the divergence of the European Union. The findings of the research indicate that the war between Russia and Ukraine and its consequences, the imposition of Western economic sanctions against Russia, have stopped the export of oil and gas to Europe and reduced the economic growth of the member countries and due to the increase in energy prices and the inability to provide energy resources and the creation of a gap between the members of this union in the way of dealing with Russia, it has led to public protests. In addition, the war in Ukraine and its consequences have changed the swing of the pendulum of this union towards statists (against transnationalists) and led to the divergence of this union.

The findings of this article are that the crisis of the war in Ukraine has had many consequences on the European Union which has led to the divergence of this institution and as a result, the reduction of its power in the international system. This problem was caused by the deepening of the differences within this union, the vacuum of powerful leadership and the different positions of the member states after the war.In this article, an attempt has been made to investigate the causes and factors of the war in Ukraine by using the scenario writing method in order to examine the consequences of the Ukraine crisis in creating differences between the members of the European Union and weakening the position of this institution in the international scene. The Ukraine crisis has increased the differences among the EU member states with the three sides of asymmetric distribution of the crisis pressure, the politicization of national identities and the low competence of European Union institutions. This crisis has increased the differences between the member states of the Union so that the crisis management policy has been reduced from the transnational level to the national level and this issue is defined as divergence. In fact, the emergence of factors such as the emergence of monopolist nationalism, the expansion of far-right political parties or TAN (Traditional-Authoritarian-Nationalist), war and the trend towards geopolitics have challenged the process of European integration. This retreat in the process of convergence and as a result divergence at the level of the European Union has brought different scenarios and consequences. The possible future scenario of the European Union is its transformation into a confederation group with veto power for each country and one of the most important consequences is the change of the European center of gravity, the destruction of the idea of independent European defense, the dominance of the United States in the Trans-Atlantic relations and the weakening of the position of the European Union in the game of power and global leadership.

European countries coined the concept of health diplomacy in the 19th century and became the leaders of other countries in this regard. Over the past century, these countries have taken a series of measures to strengthen global health diplomacy in the light of the World Health Organization. At the beginning of 2020, the members of the union, like the rest of the world, experienced a widespread outbreak of Covid-19 within their countries. This article raises the question, given the extensive history of European countries in health diplomacy, what has been the performance of EU health diplomacy during the Covid-19 outbreak? The hypothesis of the research was based on the proposition that "European Union's health diplomacy has been effective and successful in dealing with Covid-19". A qualitative method with emphasis on the analytical-explanatory method was used to evaluate the hypothesis. The data were also collected by the library method. The findings show that the EU, contrary to expectations, did not succeed in global health diplomacy. They did not achieve significant success in any of the dimensions of post-covid health diplomacy, i.e. mask diplomacy and vaccine diplomacy. Instead of turning Covid-19 into an opportunity to strengthen its international presence and take over the leadership of the world, the EU fell into nationalism and regionalism. Also, the coronavirus pandemic showed that the propositions made by liberalists regarding the cooperation of governments and interdependence can be doubted in critical conditions and in the center of publication of these theories i.e. Europe.