The European Union and the Changing International Order: The Example of the SAFE Initiative.

The aim of this paper is to present the European Union's response to changes in the international order, particularly in the area of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The most important changes in the international order, both globally and regionally, i.e., in Europe, will be presented first. These include the weakening of US global hegemony and the growing international importance of China, particularly in the geoeconomic sphere. Furthermore, the process of the US gradually withdrawing from European security and increasingly delegating this responsibility to Europeans is of great significance. One element of this change is the destabilization of the international order resulting from Russian aggression in Ukraine and the growing threat to the security of NATO and the EU's eastern flank. The most important initiatives concerning changes in the Common Security and Defence Policy that respond to these changes in the international order will then be presented. Then the SAFE initiative will be analysed in detail as an example of the EU's response to growing security threats that could lead to unfavorable for the EU changes in the international order. The research questions for this analysis address the following issues. First, does the SAFE instrument adequately address security threats? Second, does this instrument build strong European (Community) instruments that could increase the centralization and federalization of the EU, and in particular strengthen the Common Security and Defence Policy? Third, does it build truly European procurement financed by EU funds? Fourth, is this cooperation supranational or still strongly intergovernmental, particularly remaining within the domain of the largest member states? Fifth, is the SAFE initiative adequately coordinated with actions undertaken within NATO? Based on a case study analysis of the SAFE instrument, I will attempt to formulate more general conclusions regarding the European Union's response to the changing international order, especially on a regional scale and in the security sphere. The research methodology will be based on the analysis of regulations, EU documents, and on interviews with experts and decision-makers. The main theoretical approach is realism in international relations (to assess changes in the international order) and the perspective of liberal intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism in European studies (to assess the EU's response to changes in the international order).