The Ukraine war and the emergence of the European commission as a geopolitical actor

Abstract

The European Commission has traditionally held a weak position in the policy domain of EU security and defence policy and has been seen as a ‘least likely’ case of supranational integration. Nevertheless, in recent years, the Commission has steadily expanded its role and ambition within this policy field–a process which gained in momentum after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thus, this article investigates how the war in Ukraine has led to the establishment of new security and defence initiatives and to a stronger geopolitical role for the Commission. This paper theorises that the war in Ukraine is serving as an engine of integration. The article traces how the Commission seizes the windows of opportunity created by crises to strategically expand its mandate on security and defence policy and in the development of the sanctions policy regime.