TRANSATLANTIC SECURITY, DEFENCE AND STRATEGY: BADLY NEEDED REFORMS Professor Peter M.E. VOLTEN (emeritus) Professor Emeritus Peter Volten has been awarded Doctor Honoris Causa of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (May 2014) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of European Security Studies. Leading author, director and editor, Prof. Volten has kindly accepted to publish his lectio prima as editorial essay in the current issue of Europolity. Keywords: Defence, EU, NATO, security, strategy, transatlantic relations WHAT KIND OF UNION? THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AS SEEN BY CANDIDATES TO THE EC PRESIDENCY IN THE 2014 EP ELECTIONS Alina BÂRGĂOANU, Elena NEGREA-BUSUIOC There is no doubt that the European Union is at a crossroads. The recently (arguably) ended economic and financial crisis has left serious marks on the deep structure of the Union, which seems feebler than ever in its history. What is currently contested by politicians and people alike is the very raison d'être of the European project: do we need a Union anymore? Should the European Union be abandoned or should it be revived and consolidated? These are serious and timely questions that require urgent attention. The 2014 EP elections offered a platform spread across Europe where issues such as the future of the EU could have been addressed. In this paper, we analyze the three debates between the candidates to the Presidency of the European Commission. We particularly focus on the scenarios for Europe proposed by three of the five main participants and examine their proposals against the arguments on the future of the European project made by established scholars and experts (i.e. federation, supranational democracy, Europe of nation states, an association of sovereign states, fiscal union, banking union, etc.). Keywords: EP elections, future of the European Union, models of the EU THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS SEEN FROM A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ISOLATED CONFLICT OR DRIVING AGENT FOR REGIONAL SECURITY DYNAMICS? Maria Sabina LAZĂR Ever since last year's refusal of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to sign the EU Association Agreement, there has rapidly been unfolded a series of events leading to an ongoing internal crisis and regional security issue. The growing trend of this development has revealed the lack of rapid and effective structured response by the West to deal with the continuing crisis. What are the reasons for which the Trans-Atlantic community's efforts have not met the expected results? The current paper seeks to show that the Ukrainian crisis is linked to other regional security issues, which, as consequence of their inter-connectivity, attract the Wider Black Sea cluster of states into a process of regionness based on security matters. In order to provide evidence in this regard, the paper will look through the Regional Security Complex Theory's reference factors' lenses to analyze the reactions of the regional states based on patterns of amity-enmity, "weak"-"strong" typology of states, and the modalities through which the conflict has reverberated across the region enabling security dynamics. The employed methodology is partly based on content analysis and partly on discourse analysis. The findings of the paper reveal that the Ukrainian crisis influences and is influenced by the overall security dynamics in the region, and the inter-state relations, respecting a pattern of long-lasting relations of amity-enmity, and power relations. Keywords: Amity-enmity, crisis, power relations, Regional Security Complex, Ukraine, Wider Black Sea EUROPEAN ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY - SUPPORTING THE UNSUPPORTED Maria LIGOR In the summer of 2013, the European Endowment for Democracy - EED started to operate from Brussels, as the newest additional instrument meant to project EU's influence in its neighbourhood. Its objective is to encourage democracy initiatives from the emerging civil societies and to support the political transition in the East and South, within the geographic scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy. This article is examining the sui generis nature of the Endowment, a private foundation created and managed by the EU institutions and Member States, established as a result of ad-hoc negotiations within the EU framework, with innovative governance and operational models, and a hybrid budget provided by the European Commission and national voluntary contributions. It gives a description of the context in which the initiative appeared, and of the process that led to its creation. The analysis includes the inception phase of the Endowment, and the decisions of its governing bodies that led to autonomy from the EU institutional setting. It explores the added value of the EED by examining the new categories of beneficiaries that it can finance, and the new types of interventions, both not covered by other donors of assistance for democracy and human rights, as well as the methods it uses in order to increase the flexibility of its operations. In addition, there is an emphasis on the complementarity of the EED with above-mentioned donors or other institutional stakeholders. Finally, it examines the challenges that the Endowment is facing in terms of sustainability of political support and financing. Keywords: Community method, donor community, EU neighbourhood, European Endowment for Democracy, governance model, hybrid budget, sustainability 'A BRIDGE TOO FAR' - EXAMINING A POSSIBLE OUTCOME OF THE UKRAINE CRISIS Sorin-Sebastian NICULESCU The article examines the proposal, advanced by a number of Realist authors (Mearsheimer, Kissinger, Walt) that a lasting solution to the current crisis in Ukraine can be reached by a "grand bargain" between the West (defined as comprising the EU and US) and Russia. This settlement would mean that Ukraine gains the status of "a bridge between Russia and Europe", pursuing equivalent relationships with both sides without formally becoming part of any competing arrangements (NATO, EU or Customs Union/Eurasian Economic Union). The analysis focuses on three main issues: the arrangement's sustainability, its enforceability and its possible role in a broader Eurasian security architecture. It takes into account the ongoing dynamics of the Ukrainian society, regional evolutions, as well as the wider international environment. It also factors in the interests, perceptions and strategy of the current Russian leadership. In context, a brief comparison is made with the Finnish model, which is often invoked by the proponents of the "bridge" solution. The conclusions reached are that, in the current circumstances, a "50%-50%" type of arrangement could not be sustained with reasonable political, economic and military costs. Its enforceability would also be problematic, given the parties' very different commitment to use the capabilities at their disposal. Taking into account the extremely high difficulty of reaching a mutually satisfactory settlement in Ukrainian case, which must be one of the linchpins of any Eurasian security architecture, it can be concluded that such a broad agreement is also extremely unlikely at this time. A more probable outcome for the near future would be a policy of "complex containment", where economic and political interaction continues at some levels, but is restricted in others and where Russia is no longer perceived as a genuine partner of the West. This would not be a permanent situation, but only a temporary "point of balance", highly dependent on political evolutions, especially those within Russia. Keywords: Balance, enforceability, identity, security architecture, sustainability THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA'S EUROPEAN CHOICE AND WHY IT MATTERS Dragoș RIZESCU This paper is focused on the relationship between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union. In a regional climate marked by the crisis in Ukraine, Moldova is an interesting case. It is arguably the most committed country in the Eastern Partnership to a stronger relationship with the EU. It is also the country that registered most progress in adopting EU policies. And, most of all, it seems the most likely country to challenge the "everything but institutions" principle that has shunned away any hope of EU membership for countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy
