The Russian invasion of Ukraine appeared to trigger a major shift in the European approach towards resorting to military force in the face of threats facing the continent.

This shift was also evident in the European Parliament, with the President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe Garcia Perez, declaring that while dialogue and negotiations should be the key tools to solve the current escalation in Ukraine, “Civilians cannot be left to die on their own,” in an apparent moving opening to the possibility of military support to the war-torn country.

In comments given to the press on the margins of a European Parliament in Strasbourg, the MEP said that: “We do not want to leave Ukrainians who are defending the values of freedom and democracies on their own”, insisting that these were after all European values. Garcia Perez said that while work on diplomacy is ongoing, one side in the conflict is being besieged suffering attacks and casualties from another parties.

Addressing the same plenary, Josep Borrell, the EU’s de facto Foreign Minister also called for political will for Europe to strengthen its defence and security capabilities in parallel with NATO and for Member State. He warned that Europe was surrounded by “a ring of fire”, including Russia, the Sahel and Syria.

These views were shared by EP President Roberta Metsola who said that Europe needed to move on the road towards strategic autonomy, including through further investment in its defence capabilities if it wanted to be able to defend its territorial integrity. “It is the time to build a real Security and Defence Union and reduce our dependence on the Kremlin,” she added.

Although neutrality restrictions have traditionally prevented a number of member states, including Malta, from actively considering military operations, developments in Russia have also helped to change citizens’ perspectives on such matters. Surveys carried out earlier this month in Sweden and Finland, two countries which defended neutrality for decades, found that a majority of citizens now favours NATO accession.

This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-media house initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.