The STG Talks, held weekly at the Florence School of Transnational Governance, serve as a space for discussion for the entire EUI community. Led by the Policy Leader Fellows, the Talks are a place for informal learning and exchange on global issues affecting different areas of policymaking.
The destructiveness of Russian aggression and the resilience-boosting effects of EU accession played opposing roles in Eastern Europe. Ukraine and Moldova are the collateral victims of Russian kinetic and hybrid warfare, which aims to debilitate the functional systems of energy supply in the targeted countries. In contrast to Russian attrition tactics, the EU’s war-mitigating aid prioritised, among other things, strengthening critical energy infrastructure in its interventions in Ukraine and Moldova.
Continuous and targeted attacks by the Russian army have significantly undermined the viability of assets with vital functions for the Ukrainian state, weakening the defence capability within the military and the resilience of the population. Additionally, Russia has pressured Moldova’s energy sector, driving up consumer energy bills in order to undermine the government's legitimacy. In the light of war, the role played by the EU was opposite through measures of stabilisation and bouncing back in the energy sector, in particular. The EU’s engagement with a crisis management effort attempted to assist Ukraine and Moldova. Restoring and enhancing the physical integrity of essential energy infrastructure is where the EU has provided aid to Ukraine. Similarly, the EU has supported Moldova’s ability to operate its energy system through supply diversification and budgetary assistance.
The ongoing peace talks concerning Ukraine are opening the prospects for engaging in a wider conversation about the Russian war of attrition and hybrid warfare in Eastern Europe and how the EU responded to it. Three aspects draw particular attention and are being touched on during this STG Talk:
Firstly, the opposing geopolitical roles that Russia and the EU played are considered to explain the implications of the war on Ukraine and Moldova. The effects can be understood by looking at the war through the broader geopolitical discourse employed by Russia. Secondly, the conversation shifts to the distinctive strategies Russia and the EU used against Ukraine and Moldova during wartime in the field of critical energy infrastructure. Lastly, post-war efforts to rebuild Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure are being scrutinised to determine what role the West, including the EU, can play in supporting Ukraine's post-war rebuilding.
Speakers: