Inside and Beyond the Russo-Ukrainian War: The Pitfalls of the European Union

The Russo-Ukrainian conflict shows the limits and weaknesses of the European Union. More than this, the conflict reveals the inconsistencies between the EU principles and the policies implemented by the Union. Is not only the self-proclaimed role of the “global actor” that the EU imposed itself, that is questioned, but also the role of advocate of fundamental human rights that the Union claims to defend. Finally, the conflict warns of the risks of a hasty EU accession of Ukraine.The author gratefully acknowledges the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for supporting his work through grant SFRH/BD/136170/2018. Thanks to Elisa Jane Satta Woollard for proofreading the article