Security challenges in Europe and Swiss neutrality Version anglaise

The geopolitical upheavals of the post-Cold War era have put the notion of a "security community" back at the heart of Europe. Since the war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-2001), new issues have emerged as "security threats" which, far from being part of the traditional world of inter-state relations, are instead part of social or economic structures, such as organised crime, migration or energy dependence.

However, with the shock of the war in Ukraine, old fractures are reappearing within this European area of 'freedom, security and justice'. By becoming the focal point of a new balance that is taking shape, the EU is witnessing the return of a ghost of the past, that of the "cold war". The European balance is being redrawn around the EU and NATO, which is taking on a particular dimension for the most recent members, such as Croatia, which joined in 2013 and 2009 respectively.

For Switzerland, the war in Ukraine also marks a change in its neutrality policy. In this context, is it ready to play a card that could mark its history, by simultaneously relaunching its dialogue with the EU and offering its good offices to the international community in the Ukrainian conflict?

The Croatian and Swiss presidents will engage in a dialogue with the student community at the University of Geneva, to outline some potential responses to this twofold challenge posed by the war in Ukraine on European security and Swiss neutrality.