KEY CHALLENGES AND THREATS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EU EASTERN PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29038/2524-2679-2023-02-62-77Keywords:
EU Eastern Partnership Initiative, armed conflicts, war, Ukraine, security, threats and challengesAbstract
The article analyzes key challenges and threats to the Eastern Partnership. Inter- nal and external threats that inhibit the development of the EU Eastern Partner- ship Initiative have been highlighted. The internal ones include: corruption, inhi- bition of democratic processes, oligarchy, inhibition of European reforms, weak level of economic development, lack of desire to integrate into the EU. It is also worth highlighting external threats: the Russian-Ukrainian war, frozen conflicts in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, cyber attacks, terrorism, transnational crime, the withdrawal of Belarus from the Eastern Partnership and its participa- tion in armed aggression against Ukraine, hybrid and information attacks of the Russian Federation, nuclear blackmail of the Russian Federation, energy depen- dence of the countries of the region on Russia. Threats to peace and security in the Eastern Partnership states according to the Normandy Index 2022 have been identified. Key challenges for six countries of the Eastern Partnership: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus have been analyzed. The article presents a SWOT analysis of the functioning of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative. Recommendations on countering threats and challenges of the Eastern Partnership have been presented.
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