East Shield – a mechanism for strengthening the security and resilienceof Central and Eastern European countries using the example of Poland’s eastern border

Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej 22 (2024), z. 2.

Alicja Zyguła, Beata Piskorska, „East Shield – a mechanism for strengthening the security and resilienceof Central and Eastern European countries using the example of Poland’s eastern border”, Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej 22 (2024), z. 2.

https://doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2024.2.10

Security, in both the national and international dimensions, evolves rapidly, with constant emerging threats and challenges. A noteworthy aspect gaining significance in the realm of international security architecture is the increasing necessity for states to enhance their resilience. This involves developing conditions, resources, and strategies to adapt to new, varied, and unexpected conditions in both physical and cyberspace realities. A new quality of the security environment and the threats it generates obliges us to look for solutions that increase the security of the state. One of the ways to strengthen Polish security relates to border protection, so the concept of strengthening the Polish eastern border has become an impetus for scientific reflection on the national deterrence and defence program Tarcza Wschód. The Central and Eastern European region and individual countries within it are focusing efforts to increase resilience and security, therefore, this article is an attempt to analyse the role and tasks of the new mechanism in increasing the military security of the state.

Strategic projects to revitalise the European Union’s power in global affairs in the 21st century

Beata Piskorska, „Strategic projects to revitalise the European Union’s power in global affairs in the 21st century”, Online Journal Modelling the New Europe, Issue  No. 29, September 2022

https://neweurope.centre.ubbcluj.ro/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/OJMNE-September-Issue-no.39.pdf

The goal of the article is to analyse key strategic projects to strengthen the European Union’s capabilities and role in global affairs. The EU has lost the dynamics of its impact on world affairs due to the configuration of crises that have affected it at both an internal and external level. The sequence of events has undoubtedly weakened the EU’s perception as a creator of the international order, which has been a priority since its inception in the 1960s. The power and attractiveness projected by the European Union in a variety of ways have been weakened both as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and more recent dramatic events causing threats to security and peace in Europe, the best example of which is the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, but also due to undermining its internal cohesion. At the same time, the question arises whether there is a chance to regain a good image for the EU by undertaking necessary reforms and revitalising the European project? The other research questions one then needs to answer are: What challenges will the European Union have to respond to in the nearest future? Are there any real premises for waking the European Union from its marasmus and strengthening its position in Europe? How could the European Union and its members overcome these difficulties? In order to find the answer to these questions, the analysis will cover at least three strategic projects that, in the author’s opinion, may reverse the wave of estrangement from the European Union: firstly, actions that are to lead to becoming an organised strategic entity as well as the creation of integrated capabilities in the field of foreign and security policy and military crisis management, secondly, a new approach to neighbourhood policy and future EU enlargement, and finally, undermining anti-European narrative in EU and third countries.

The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor in Turbulent Times

Beata Piskorska „The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor in Turbulent Times”. Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 1/2025.

https://journalse.com/author/beata-piskorska

This article contributes to an analysis attempting to identify the capacity and resources of the European Union as an actor in international relations hitherto defined as a “soft” power, a normative actor relying mainly on diplomacy in conflict resolution, trade disputes, and climate negotiations.

This article aims to outline how the European Union, in such a defined role, is adapting to a dynamically transforming international order, one of the turning points of which was Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine in 2022. In addition, the institutional strengthening of EU diplomacy through explicit provisions for external representation following the 2009 reform introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon will be analysed. In recent times, the anticipated transformation of the European Union into an entity using more “hard” power to defend the international order and stabilise security in Europe has gradually begun to materialise. This has been manifested in the financial and military aid provided to Ukraine, the sanctions package imposed on Russia, and the developed concept of EU strategic autonomy. However, it is assumed that, despite this, the EU’s traditionally ascribed role of an actor relying on soft power, the power of its diplomacy, is still necessary and relatively valid even in the face of military threats.

The analysis begins with an overview of selected theoretical approaches to the perception of the EU in international relations. It is followed by a review of the strengthening of diplomatic structures and, finally, the emergence of new formats of EU diplomacy in response to emerging global challenges. Ultimately, this study will provide insights into the European Union’s adaptation to a turbulent international order in three dimensions: the re-definition of its international identity; the evolution of the diplomatic institutional culture established after the Treaty of Lisbon; and the transformation of the forms of response to emerging challenges nearby.