The Slovakian prime minister’s European Union advisor Ľubica Karvašová believes that new opportunities must be embraced to ensure that Europe will shape its own future. She writes that the European Political Community, which met last week in Moldova, could fill the vacuum of a pan-European dialogue without risking getting its work or initiatives blocked or vetoed.
Ľubica Karvašová is a Slovak diplomat. As a diplomatic advisor of the prime minister on EU Affairs, she served under Igor Matovič and Eduard Heger and currently advises Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor.
A new geopolitical context, triggered by Russia bringing the war back to the European continent, has clearly illustrated that existing solutions do not always work or are good enough to face it. As a frontline state, Slovakia is well aware of a need to reach out to partners within and outside the EU and NATO for closer cooperation.
None of us in Europe should feel alone. The summit of 45 leaders in Moldova on 1 June was a great demonstration of our support to a partner who has been heavily exposed to the consequences of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. We are no longer at the business as usual. We need to be able to think outside of the box. New opportunities need to be embraced if we want to ensure that Europe will shape its future.
A security dimension has an undisputable place in the European Political Community (EPC). When Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine started, the world, as we knew it before, changed for good. Several affected countries by the war, whose security also, in broader terms, is now under threat and are neither EU nor NATO members.
Therefore, creating a framework which includes all European countries regardless of their membership in regional or international organisations is only a natural reaction to the current context. Not to replace existing organisations such as the Council of Europe, OSCE, IAEA, etc. Rather than the opposite, the EPC could give them more visibility and political support and fill the vacuum of a pan-European dialogue without risking getting its work or initiatives blocked or vetoed.
Three potential areas in the security dimension
To make the best use of the EPC, we must choose areas for discussion and cooperation that are uncontroversial and relevant for all attending. In the security dimension, where Slovakia participates, areas such as nuclear security and safety, countering hybrid threats and disinformation, or crisis management could be worth exploring collectively.
First, nuclear safety and security are necessary for ensuring Europe’s stability and security, which is in the interest of the European continent as a whole. We have no European experience with these facilities being exposed during an armed conflict.
It is a new area that deserves political attention at the leaders’ level. We should look at the EPC platform as an opportunity for identifying ways to support the work of existing institutions further – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and help the IAEA with the monitoring and enforcement of existing norms – especially during the war, when additional political support could be desired.
Second, hybrid threats represent a challenge for all of us, so sharing know-how and best practices for tackling them makes sense. Slovakia is ready to contribute with its experience and offer its recent methodology to map exposure to hybrid threats, not as a front-runner but as someone who faces severe challenges of disinformation and is now well aware of its vulnerabilities. In a recent poll, around half of Slovak citizens do not see who the aggressor is and who is a victim of Russia’s war in Ukraine. We must act and join forces now!
Third, effective strategic communication strengthens societal resilience, especially during crisis management when a country deals with unexpected situations like natural disasters. We have been all victims of extreme conditions, from earthquakes to floods and drought. The role of state institutions is crucial. Efforts to learn from each other how to handle them, both in terms of governance and strategic communication, would be a valuable contribution to increasing the resilience of our countries.
For example, Slovak Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor also considers supporting vulnerable persons a suitable topic – this can be both in armed conflicts and other types of crises.
Building trust is crucial
To unlock this potential in the areas I have just outlined, we must first focus on building trust among each other. This is a crucial ingredient if we want to tackle security challenges together. And that also requires us to be cautious enough not to push agenda that is very important for one country but with the potential to trigger tensions with others. To achieve this, we must treat everyone equally without imposing EU or NATO standards on non-members.
Trust goes hand in hand with joint ownership. This does not necessarily mean we all must agree on one concrete initiative. The unity-building could occur in informal, diverse and non-institutionalised clusters that decide to focus on one particular area. The EPC would act here as a catalyst or facilitator of cooperation across Europe, including between countries that don´t yet have such intensive relations.
For instance, nuclear security and safety, including physical protection of nuclear power plants during an armed conflict, could be further explored. Slovakia, as a country with a long tradition of running nuclear power plants, is engaged in this field, and we are ready to continue to be also in the context of helping President Zelenskyy implement the Peace Formula.
What is now vital for the European continent is two-fold: thinking out of the box and sincere efforts to build trust and unity between us. Let´s use every opportunity at hand to do so. Not for our own interests but for a better future for our home, Europe.
Source: euractiv.com
