The Ukraine/Russia War and Indivisibility of Security on the European Continent

On February 22, 2023, European Studies Council’s EU Visiting Fellow, Lucio Gussetti presented a section from his work-in-progress in the talk titled, “The Ukraine/ Russia War and Indivisibility of Security on the European Continent: a Perspective from the EU.”

Gussetti is Director and Principal Legal Adviser of the European Commission for Foreign and Security Policy and External Relations and a former member of the Private Office of the European Commission’s President. Arne Westad, the Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale, served as a discussant. Isabela Mares, Faculty Director of the European Union Studies Program and the Arnold Wolfers Professor of Political Science at Yale, introduced the participants.

Gussetti’s talk focused on the concept “indivisibility of security” from historical and legal perspectives and its relevance for restoring peace in Europe. The negotiating history since 1990 and the text of the present Treaties of the European Union contain direct reference to the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Helsinki in 1975. The Helsinki principles are based on the logic of “indivisibility of security” on the European continent, a notion defined by all the participants, including Ukraine and Russia, as “the security of each participating State is inseparably linked to that of all others. Each participating State has an equal right to security. We reaffirm the inherent right of each and every participating State to be free to choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, as they evolve. Each State also has the right to neutrality. Each participating State will respect the rights of all others in these regards. They will not strengthen their security at the expense of the security of other States.”

Read the event recap on Yale European Studies Council website