Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

This paper critically analyses the escalating security challenges facing the European Union, primarily defined by the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine after 2022 and the return of great power tensions. This transformation of the security environment has definitively ended the era of post-conflict peace on the European continent and exposed deep structural vulnerabilities in assuring sovereign European defence. The analysis identifies three key structural challenges: the critical fragmentation of Member States' defence capabilities and capacities, the limited ability to respond to high-intensity conflict, and the industrial unpreparedness of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. It is asserted that the EU’s persistent reliance on external guarantees, particularly amid rising transatlantic uncertainty, jeopardises its political sovereignty. To overcome these structural limitations, the paper advocates for a deeper integration trajectory towards the concept of a Total Defence Union. It posits that strengthening European defence is a strategic imperative for maintaining Europe's stability and international standing in an era of increasing great power rivalry.

Romania’s membership of NATO and the European Union has many advantages, but also risks for each of them. Romania continues to strengthen its position and role within NATO and the EU. Romania has shown that it is a loyal and credible partner in its relationship with all international organizations. Romania’s strategic documents with NATO and the EU are well structured and clear. These include mission, vision, strategic objectives and ways of cooperating with each other, as well as the financial, material, human and informational resources needed to implement them. The objective of our research was to identify the main threats, risks and vulnerabilities of Romania as a NATO member state. The analysis has led to the discovery of new ways of reducing risks and threats, as well as solving the major vulnerabilities of Romania. The research is based on the National Defense Strategy, the Romanian Armed Forces Endowment Plan for the period 2019-2028 and other strategic documents underpinning the development of the cooperation between Romania and NATO. Within the analysis process the main threats, risks and vulnerabilities of Romania in relation to NATO were identified. Based on the analysis carried out, several ways of action are proposed through which Romania can strengthen its defense and security capabilities. The results of the research are relevant both theoretically and practically because they show the major changes that Romania has made after entering NATO and the exceptional performances achieved both in the development of the defense and security capability and in fulfilling the commitments assumed by Romania with NATO and other organizations it belongs to.

Ensuring the defence of freedom, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and population belongs to the main tasks of each state. Therefore, countries, in response to the current political, security and economic situation, must earmark, within the framework of their national budgets, a proportion of the available resources to ensure their defence. The aim of the article, based on current trends in the defence budgets of the European Union member states, is point out that not only the global economic and financial crisis and the credit and debt crisis in the euro area have a significant negative impact on the amount of resources, which individual European Union member states earmark to ensure their defence.

Security and competitiveness are two very important aspects of the economic and political development of every country. In the 21st century, one of the key drivers of most economies in countries throughout the world is energy. Different countries adopt different measures so as to ensure their security and competitiveness through the effective energy policies that make traditional and renewable resources adequately available hence eliminating the possibilities of shortages. Our paper takes up the case study of Germany as one of the wealthiest and most developed economies in the European Union which also occupies the first positions in the charts of energy uptake and consumption. German policy-makers realize its vulnerability when it comes to energy security and attempt to diversify its energy competitiveness using the renewable sources of energy (for instance via the adoption of the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz or the “Renewable Energy Act” (EEG)). We analyze the issues of energy security and competitiveness of a country using an example of Germany. Moreover, we describe what challenges the renewable energy sources (RES) might bring into the conventional game and how this might influence the competitiveness and security.

Our paper aims at analysing and assessing sustainable housing policy and social security in selected countries of the European Union with a special focus on housing policy which largerly depends on the family support and family policy of the EU Member States. Family policy and family support allow young families to acquire their own housing and therefore represent a key element in the bundle of the social-oriented state policies.