The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has unleashed the destructive potential of modern warfare within Europe, hindering Kyiv’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while causing a massive migration wave which tested the EU’s solidarity and resilience. The EU has provided Ukraine with financial and military aid while unfolding an unprecedented response under the CFSP framework through eleven packages of sanctions against Russia (EU Council, 2023f). Even so, the impact of sanctions has been downscaled compared to initial ambitions because of collisions among national interests forcing the Council to make generous concessions to Russian-dependent economies (EU Council, 2023a). The EU cannot become a credible global power if it cannot reach collective CFSP decisions. Moving towards qualified majority voting (QMV) would address structural weaknesses and serve the objective of European sovereignty, but only after forging a common foreign policy understanding of the EU’s major security challenges.

After setting off with a background on the main security challenges in the Euro-Atlantic area arising from the invasion of Ukraine, this info flash discusses the role played by EU institutions throughout the decision-making process to adopt restrictive measures (section I). It then explains the influence of the regional geopolitical context on EU-level security cooperation (section II) and the outcomes thereof (section III). It concludes by forecasting some outlooks for future decision-making dynamics in CFSP matters.