CSS Evening Talk: The Ukraine crisis and the future of the European security architecture
„The Ukraine crisis and the future of the European security architecture formed the primary focus of the discussion at the Evening Talk on 30th of June 2015. Both Prof. Dr. Hanns Maull, Distinguihed Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and longtime holder of the chair of International Relations at the University of Trier, and Prof. Dr. Andreas Wenger, the Director of the CSS, agreed on the fact that Russia’s annexation of Crimea marked a turning point in the relations between Moscow and the West. There are, however, no discernible signs of a new Cold War. Despite having global implications, the conflict with Russia does not feature the structural patterns to impinge on world politics in the 21st century. Moreover, Russia does not constitute the only challenge for European Security nowadays. At least equally significant are the challenges in the southern European periphery. However, it became clear that NATO as well as EU-members depend on security guarantees against current Russian intimidations. With regards to the states situated between Russia and the West, such as the Ukraine in particular, the process of enlargement should generally be reconsidered and delayed. Today, there are many reasons to believe that the process of consolidation within the West should be weighted stronger than the process of enlargement to new countries.”