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When European security meets reality

Russia’s full-scale military invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory has flagrantly violated the fragile post-Cold War security ecosystem shaped by the transatlantic community. The intricate structure of European security requires bold and decisive action to establish an effective and credible mechanism of deterrence and response. Such a mechanism must rest upon a multi-level construction of the transatlantic security community.

September 26, 2025 - Artur Gruszczak - AnalysisIssue 5 2025Magazine

An employee at a German defence industrial facility repairing a Puma battle tank. The European Union and its member states must effectively recalibrate their strategies, policies and instruments to focus on their own security. This is no simple task. Photo courtesy of the European Commission

NATO has long served as the mainstay of Europe’s security and prosperity, underpinned by American military power and a permanent US presence on the continent. Although it has neither prevented conflicts in Europe nor effectively countered hybrid warfare, terrorism and violent extremism, NATO has consistently deterred large-scale military aggression by hostile states. Europe has thus lived under the Alliance’s protective umbrella – largely upheld by the United States – but this reality may be subject to change.

The central question posed here concerns the foundations of European security in today’s volatile and turbulent environment: is Europe capable of ensuring its own security without the US-led NATO shield? If so, do European ambitions to develop “strategic autonomy” or “sovereignty” strengthen NATO, or foreshadow a profound transformation of the Alliance in line with a multi-level governance model?

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