Energy Security and the Transformation of EU Foreign and Defence Architecture in a Geopolitical Era

This paper examines the strategic role of energy security in shaping the European Union’s evolving foreign, security, and defence architecture. It positions energy security as a central pillar influencing the EU’s external action and security position, particularly in response to global geopolitical disruptions affecting energy markets and supply chains. Examining some key incident took place in the recent history, the paper demonstrates how energy security has emerged as a catalyst for deeper European integration within the most sensitive domains of foreign, security, and defence policy, key areas characterized by contested national sovereignty and intergovernmental bargaining. In today’s geopolitical environment, energy security and defence are not merely complementary but structurally interdependent. Energy security increasingly determines the formation of alliances, the dynamics of conflict, and the strategic orientation of defence and security policies within the EU’s political economy. This interdependence is illustrated by the EU’s response to major geopolitical shocks, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which exposed vulnerabilities in energy flows and prompted unprecedented policy coordination through initiatives such as RePowerEU. Against this backdrop, this study highlights the European Commission’s proactive role in addressing energy-related insecurities, framing these interventions as a foundation for advancing common defence and security policies under its auspices. This institutional shift has strengthened the EU’s capacity to act as a coherent and assertive agent in international politics, challenging traditional assumptions about the limits of supranational authority in security matters. By analysing policy instruments, institutional dynamics, and coalition-building processes, the paper demonstrates how energy security is redefining the EU’s strategic autonomy and its ability to navigate an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape. In this age of geopolitics, securing energy, including access to strategic minerals, is not only an economic matter, also the emerging as the main agenda of foreign and defence policies. geopolitical threats and vulnerabilities making the borders between these realms meaningless. Informed by this insight, his research contributes to debates on the nexus between energy security and defence integration, offering insights into how material vulnerabilities can drive normative and institutional transformations in the EU’s external action.