THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Towards a new legislative term

EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND THE NEW GEOPOLITICS 17 19. Relations with the United States: it is the EU’s main ally, with which it must work on an equal footing - including responding clearly to those decisions that the Union considers wrong, such as the IRA - to jointly define global objectives, starting with the challenges to peace, security and a rules-based or- der, economic growth or climate change; 20. NATO: an allied organization, obviously different in nature from the EU (of which the vast majority of EU states are part), with different tasks which, in various fields, can be complementary to those of the Union; 21. Russia: a country bent on not respecting a rules- based international order - as it has demonstrated with its illegal invasion of Ukraine - whose policy must be responded to by the EU in all fields to de- fend international law and Community values and interests; 22. Ukraine: the EU must maintain its commitment to the country, in the face of the Russian invasion; 23. Relationship with China: for the EU it is not an ad- versary, but a competitor with which to cooperate and trade while claiming to work for a rules-based order, to respect human rights and to establish a fair economic relationship. Recommendations – The EU’s response to the new geopolitics involves re- affirming its identity as a relevant global power due to the attractiveness of its model - democracy and solidarity - and its political and economic collabora- tion of an open and universal nature, with a foreign policy particularly focused on conflict prevention and crisis management and integrated, sufficient and ef- fective defense spending to ensure security. – The EU must preserve its decision-making capacity on the basis of open strategic autonomy. – Allies - such as the United States and NATO - and partners are indispensable, always on an equal foot- ing and on the basis of their own identity. – The Union is a well-defined reality committed to the maintenance of a rules-based international order. – The Union must promote the definition of a European framework of shared security, with effective dispute settlement mechanisms and disarmament-oriented. – The EU’s identity is the opposite of what Europe meant for much of the world: colonialism. The Union must succeed in being seen as a part of the devel- oped world committed to sustainable development and the fight against climate change, through fair trade and cooperation. Considering the global South as a partner must be the European option. – The Union must opt for cooperative multilateralism. – For the EU to act with open strategic autonomy, it must continue its political deepening, providing itself with more competences and resources and improv- ing its decision-making procedures, extending quali- fied majority voting in foreign policy. The reform of the EU Treaty is, for all this, necessary. – The Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU 2023 is a great opportunity to advance in all these directions. Abbreviations – WTO: World Trade Organization. – NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. – EU: European Union. References Carnero, Carlos; Martínez, María José y Suárez, Ramón (2005): La Constitución Europea: manual de instruc- ciones . Madrid: Espejo de Tinta. Martín, José y Urrea, Mariola (2010): Tratado de Lisboa: Textos consolidados del Tratado de la Unión Europea y del Tratado de Funcionamiento de la Unión Euro- pea (2ª ed.). Madrid: Real Instituto Elcano & Marcial Pons. Morin, Edgar (2023): De guerre en guerre: De 1914 à l’Ukraine . París: Éditions de l’Aube. Ortega, Martín (2014): Derecho global: Derecho Inter- nacional Público en la era global . Madrid: Tecnos. VV.AA. (2004): Constitución europea: una política de paz. Tiempo de paz (75). Available at: https://dialnet. unirioja.es/ejemplar/104893