Journal articles on the topic 'Military weapons – European Union countries'

The paper explores the issues of export control, their regulation in the law of the European Union; considerable attention is given to differences in the status of military and dual-use goods. Approaches to the harmonization of export of weapons regulation, as well as to the unification of legal provisions on the export of dual-use goods are considered. An analysis of acts of primary and secondary law governing both the movement of military and dual-use goods within the European Union and their export to third countries is carried out. The authors conclude that the European legislator uses similar mechanisms, which allows us to speak about the formation of a unified model of legal regulation in the areas under consideration. Particular attention is given to the procedure for obtaining licenses and permits within the framework of export control to the EU. The paper scrutinizes the characteristic features of customs declaration for military and dual-use goods export, and specifically analyses the procedure and grounds for the suspension of the release of such goods. The paper also discusses the features of checking permits and licenses when exporting military and dual-use goods.

The article aims to identify the key trends and main areas of development of arms trade and military-technical cooperation between South-East Asian countries and the United States and European Union countries over the past decade (2011–2020). In addition to the direct procurement of weapons and military equipment (with a detailed list of purchased systems for each of the South-East Asian countries), the supply of subsystems and components, the licensed production and other forms of military-technical cooperation are also considered. The growth of military expenditures and arms procurement of the South-East Asian countries over the past decade is analyzed in terms of influence of such drivers as internal instability, the China-US confrontation in the Pacific region and the unresolved disputes between the countries in the South China Sea, the modernization of the armed forces and national defense industries in SouthEast Asia. On this basis, conclusions are made about the prospects for development of military-technical cooperation and arms procurement in the region, as well as how the changes taking place in this sphere affect Russia’s military-technical cooperation with South-East Asian countries.

The prospects for international security are closely linked to solving the age-old problems of war and peace, especially on the European continent. The long period of residence of European peoples in this part of the world, their communication with each other revealed numerous models of coexistence from armed confrontation to the formation of political integration with focus first on the economic component and then on socio-political unity. The creation of the European Union has changed relations between European countries. European states have committed themselves to resolving all disputes peacefully and to cooperating closely within the framework of pan-European institutions. However, the military conflict in Eastern Ukraine has reminded us that the war has not disappeared from the European continent and that Europe is facing new threats and challenges. Rising international tensions and the threat of large-scale military conflict in Europe are becoming a central theme of contemporary political discourse. The article analyzes the reasons for the increase in international conflict and new challenges to Ukraine’s national security. The author emphasizes that in order to understand the reasons, it is important to find out what interests each of the parties to the conflict pursues and what role our country plays in the East-West geopolitical confrontation. It is noted that the difference in views of Russia and the West on international relations leaves little room for compromise on Ukraine. The Kremlin’s demands for security combined with the “rattling” of weapons on Ukraine’s borders have provoked mixed reactions in the European Union and the United States. It is clear that Russia’s blackmail is bearing fruit and the start of the negotiation process marks a revision of European security policy. Given these circumstances, the author emphasizes the importance for Ukraine to be an active subject of the negotiation process in order to protect its own national interests.

The article presents a description of a text collection representing disinformation messages about the war in Ukraine published on one of the Telegram channels in order to influence the Russian-speaking community in Germany. The main subjects that Russian propaganda used at the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine were determined on the basis of deductive thematic analysis, content analysis, and semantic and stylistic analysis of the texts. It has been established that the similarity of the subjects of Russian disinformation and the identity of their coverage in different countries allows us to talk about a full-fledged system of moderation by official Russia not only traditional media, but also social networks; a special news selection for commenting, the so-called agenda, and a certain way of commenting them. The same type set of topics and the identity of their coverage in different countries gives reason to conclude that they have been transformed into peculiar patterns, according to which a carefully constructed image unfolds through the story. The task: to compromise Ukraine, as well as European countries and politicians who did not support the Kremlin's military aggression; to impose a favorable for Russian vision of its attack on Ukraine; to cause panic with threats of global military conflict with the use of nuclear weapons among European citizens, and an energy and food crisis in Europe; to destabilize the domestic political situation within Germany; to demonize the image of the US to divert attention from the real aggressor and to compromise the partnership between the European Union and the US.

The article analyzes in the time frame of the coming decade (2020–2030) the main trends in the development of the military and political situation in Europe. New nuclear risks arising from the weakening of the WMD non-proliferation regime, the dismantling of the INF Treaty and the prospects for the deployment of new generations of medium- and short-range missiles in Europe are being considered. The EU's successes and failures over the past three decades in establishing a system of EU operations and missions in conflict regions have been systematized. The structure, types, purpose of the 47 projects of military-technical and military-political cooperation implemented by the European Union within the framework of the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) are analyzed. Groups of projects aimed at strengthening cooperation in the crisis response, at the development and production of weapons, at mastering information- and cyber-communications, logistics and medical cooperation, and at training activities are identified. The strengthening of Europe's geostrategic autonomy from the United States is noted, as well as the military-technical rather than military-operational emphasis within the PESCO programs, the absence of projects aimed directly at conducting collective offensive operations. Conclusions are drawn regarding the dangers of involving the CSTO indirect confrontation with NATO and the EU, the need to establish cooperation along the CSTO-EU line in confronting new common risks and challenges that are endangering both the east and west of Europe. There has been a transformation of many programs of military-technical and military-operational cooperation/integration of EU countries into the basis for new directions of the arms race in Europe.

The article analyzes the experience of reforming of industrial policy of the EU member states on the way to sustainable economic development. Based on the conducted analysis the priority areas of high added value in Ukraine are outlined: transport, aerospace, energy engineering, production of equipment for alternative energy, including new materials and energy storage devices; production of weapons, military and special equipment; information and communication technologies. The development of the diversified and high-tech industries, especially the processing industry, is the key to ensuring the economic growth in Ukraine. The de-industrialization in Ukraine in recent years has been slowing down the movement towards the stable and sustained growth. To estimate trends in the structure of Ukraine’s GDP and their impact on economic growth, the taxonomic indicator of development level has been calculated. The units of the statistical aggregate (data from Germany, Poland and Ukraine) were mapped. The relative position of the state was determined as the distance from the statistical aggregate unit to the selected reference base (reference point). The smaller the value of the taxonomic indicator of development is, the closer the country is to the standard. The indicators of GDP, GDP growth rate and the share of industrial production belong to stimulants; the level of inflation and the share of agriculture in GDP - to disincentives. The corresponding calculations permit to draw the following conclusions: - Poland was the closest to the standard in 2000 (index 0.650), although Ukraine demonstrated at that time the highest growth rates and the biggest share of industry in GDP; - in 2017 the gap was increasing - Ukraine was inferior to both countries (with indicators 0.325 and 0.336), due to lower rates of economic growth and a decrease in the share of industrial production against the backdrop of inflationary phenomena. Ukraine should take into account that no country focused on agricultural development has succeeded in economic development. Progressive foreign experience can highlight the criterion of positive changes - an increase in the proportion of technologically complex productions with high added value in the structure of reproduction.

The article analyses the complex influence of dangerous changes, which took place after 2014 in the international political environment in Europe, on the ongoing transformations, suggests essential revision of national policies of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland) in the field of their security and defenсe. The degree of military and political tension in the North of Europe has increased significantly after 2014. The conflict is escalating due to additional deployment within the so-called reinforcement of the “eastern flank” of the Alliance with three allied battalions, and NATO weapons in the Baltic States and Poland. However, great strategic stability in the zone of direct contact between NATO and Russia is still possible to maintain. The international political situation in the subregion has also deteriorated markedly as a result of the U.S., NATO and EU sanctions policy against Russia, strengthening of transatlantic relations of the Nordic countries, and reinforcement of allied ties within the framework of the Western bloc policy as a whole. It noted signified not only a revision in favor of further strengthening of transatlantic ties in the policy of bloc allegiance of the Nordic countries – members of NATO (Denmark, Norway, Iceland), but also an obvious intensification of practical cooperation between formally non-aligned states (Sweden and Finland) with the Alliance structures. The Nordic Defenсe Cooperation (NORDEFCO) has also started to acquire a risky pro-Atlantic style, losing its previous autonomous subregional nature. Apparently, in the present complex situation, the Nordic Five is disposed to solve security and defence problems by: 1) having a greater many-sided cooperation with NATO; 2) giving a real, limited meaning to the European Union in the military-political sphere; 3) continuing to bear pressure upon Russia for the purpose of limiting Russian influence in the subregion, especially in the Baltic region. In the near future, the problem of NATO accession for Sweden and Finland may remain in the same precarious condition unless some dangerous force majeure circumstances occur in the Baltic region.

The Kosovo War in the 1990s was one among a series of wars in the former Yugoslav federation. It was the final war that ended the dissolution which had started with Slovenia from1990 to 1991, Croatia and Bosnia - Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 and the Kosovo War from 1998 to 1999. However, the Kosovo war happened during a different situation and period. It was at a time and in a position to cause the domino effect in the Balkans and an outbreak of wars in a large part of the Balkans. This fight could include Albania and Macedonia as nations with an ethnic Albanian population. It could also have a religious or cultural impact that threatened to involve other states such as Bosnia and Turkey on the one hand and Greece on the other. The interest of major countries in Europe, as well as the world, was focused on this war. A country among them was the UK. As one of the founding states of the European Union, United Nations, and NATO, the UK was quite involved in this war. The UK and the US were two countries that became the political and military leadership in this struggle since its beginning, while reaching a peak in 1999. This situation involved talks in the British Parliament in the UK, especially the House of Lords where the decision-making aspect of parliamentary politics is achieved. The war was also a major concern for the parliament. On the one hand, it was important to resolve the situation in Kosovo without worsening it with other massacres. On the other hand, this situation required caution in dealing with the Serbian people. The destiny of Kosovo refugees was important to them. However, the future of the Serbian people in Kosovo had to be guaranteed. The most important thing was to obtain full autonomy for Kosovo, but also to achieve a bilateral cooperation from both countries. The House of Lords and the interest of some lords in this war made the British policy, as a whole, a lot more responsible for accomplishing what it had started since diplomacy regarding weapons and the military intervention used to manage the situation of refugees in Kosovo had a huge impact in Europe. The British parliamentary sessions were very crucial in leading to an international level this whole historical phase for Kosovo.

The EU’s PESCO projects and NATO’s High Visibility Projects are aimed at strengthening the defence capabilities of the member states of these two structures, creating new military technologies, jointly purchasing equipment and weapons, optimizing countries' defence spending and coordinating the transformation of their armed forces structures in accordance with collective interests. At the same time, the projects of the EU and NATO have different tasks that align with the foreign policy goals of these different in nature structures. Due to the participation of various states in each of them, primarily the United States in NATO, a number of contradictions between them remain. However, most of them are offset by the EU–NATO cooperation. The latter has significantly intensified since 2016. Two bilateral declarations were signed and two packages of measures for their implementation were adopted. The parties have strengthened political cooperation, interaction during operations, coordination of defence planning, they jointly develop projects for the formation of military infrastructure, develop deepen military-technical cooperation in areas of common interest. The article analyzes the PESCO and High Visibility Projects projects, compares them and identifies the links and differences between them. It is substantiated that, despite the various tasks, in the conditions of the modern transformation of the world order and the evolution of threats to their member states, the EU and NATO are expanding coordination in defence planning and developing a division of responsibilities between the two. The PESCO and High Visibility Projects are being implemented in full synchronization with each other, with the participation of a number of EU member states, but not-NATO members, in NATO projects and vice versa. Rather, the projects complement each other, although the scope of PESCO is much broader due to the peculiarities of the nature of the European Union as a regional integration association. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is a spatial approach. It is substantiated that the EU and NATO, both being already transnational political spaces, form a superstructure space of EU-NATO cooperation, in which the actors of the first level – these two structures themselves – and the second level – the states – interact more intensively than with external actors, participate in the struggle for power, redistribution of resources, form the identity of this transnational space. It is concluded that in the future, coordination between the PESCO and High Visibility Projects, as well as between the EU and NATO in general, will expand.

In this article, the author explores the issue of cooperation between the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Great Britain and the United States of America in the first postwar decade. The object of the author’s study is the Ukrainian liberation movement, the subject of study is the cooperation of Ukrainian nationalists with the special services of Western countries in the context of the confrontation with the Soviet Union in the early stages of the Cold War. The sources of the study are internal documents of the Soviet security services, reports, orders of the Ministry of State Security and the Committee of State Security of the USSR and protocols of interrogations of participants and leaders of the Ukrainian underground. In this context, the interrogation reports of V. Okhrymovych, the head of intelligence of the Ukrainian liberation movement abroad, who was trained in intelligence at the school of spies and in 1951 was landed in Soviet-controlled territory, were discovered and arrested by the KGB. The author analyzed the peculiarities of the geopolitical situation in Ukraine and the entire region of Central and Eastern Europe in the postwar period. Separately, the researcher studied the specifics and features of cooperation of Ukrainian nationalists with the intelligence agencies of the United States and Great Britain. The author analyzed the documents available in the archives of Ukraine for evidence of cooperation and coordination of efforts of the Ukrainian liberation movement abroad with representatives of special services of foreign states to gather intelligence in the USSR anti-Soviet sentiments, etc. The analysis of the facts in the documents showed the complexity of the situation of the Ukrainian liberation movement at the final stage of the armed struggle on the territory of Ukraine. In fact, Western special services were in dire need of intelligence from the Soviet Union, while centers of the Ukrainian movement abroad needed support in weapons, equipment, radio, new methods of sabotage and intelligence, and financial support. OUN members also had to study and learn about parachuting abroad, as illegal land routes were blocked by socialist countries. The transfer of Ukrainian underground was carried out illegally on American or British planes, from which landings were carried out over the territory of Ukraine together with walkie-talkies and equipment. The overthrown had to get in touch with the underground in Ukraine and renew the line of communication with the network of the Ukrainian liberation movement in the USSR. This article will be of interest to researchers of the history of Ukraine, the Soviet Union, the United States and the European continent of the ХХ century, specialists in military affairs, intelligence and the Ukrainian liberation movement, students and anyone persons interested in history.

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of international energy security. It was perceived as part of general international security, and as a branch of national security. But new threats require that regional international organizations and military-political organizations, such as the EU and NATO, address this issue. When Russia cut off gas supplies through Ukraine in 2006 and 2009, some industrial production was suspended. This caused significant economic damage. This showed a clear vulnerability on the part of NATO countries and the possibility of using energy mechanisms against them in the future. Therefore, a stable supply of fuel has become a very important factor for Allies. It is expected that the actions of European countries to reduce CO2 emissions and replace carbon fuel with environmentally friendly energy will put pressure on the economy of oil and gas exporters. This will also have an indirect impact on importers, in particular NATO member states. The pursuit of clean energy carries not only benefits but also risks. The implications of switching to alternative energy sources for individual fossil fuel producers will vary. In some countries there may be social unrest, political crises until the collapse of the state. The latter can lead to waves of migration to Europe or the United States. The policies of individual states, which will lose legal sources of budget replenishment, and especially if they become a haven for terrorists, may become more aggressive. When formulating energy security policy, the possibility of using the energy sector as a weapon by individual states to achieve their foreign policy goals should be taken into account. Therefore, each state (union of states) will try to achieve a higher level of not only energy security, but also protection from associated threats.

The processes of globalization and postmodernism are important determinants of the integration of the European Union countries in the field of ensuring security. Ensuring security of the European Union countries requires the creation of an integrated security system of these countries. This study is concerned with the theoretical analysis of an important factor - disponible (available) groups - in ensuring security of the European Union. These groups were defined as professional or volunteer response forces of a military, paramilitary and non-military nature.Two possible ways of integrating national disponible groups into the developing security system of the European Union ensuring its military as well as non-military security were analyzed. The success of integration of the national security systems of the European Union countries into the security system of the European Union depends not only on the elites - national (local) and transnational, but also on the transformation of citizens of national (member) states into citizens of the European Union - European citizens.

Russia's attack on Ukraine provoked a reaction from Western states, which jointly pledged to provide aid to the fighting Ukraine. The attitude of Western countries is very important in terms of Ukraine's independence. Military support, despite its large scale, is probably insufficient for Ukraine. Ukraine's Armed Forces are now completely dependent on the supply of weapons, military equipment and other materials from Western countries. The Ukrainian army can successfully compete with the Russian army only thanks to such help and military support. After the aggression by Russia, military support in the form of supplies of weapons, equipment, ammunition and supplies for Ukraine was provided by individual EU countries and countries outside the European continent.

The European Peace Facility (EPF) is a new mechanism officially established to allow the EU to directly assist partners in military and defence matters. After the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, the Council of European Union adopted assistance measures under the EPF financing equipment and supplies for the Ukrainian armed forces, including, for the first time, the provision of lethal equipment. This article firstly presents the legality and compliance of this provision with the law of neutrality under international law on the assumption that providing military support to a state unlawfully attacked might represent a mitigating circumstance – considering the inherent right to self-defence – and a collective countermeasure in response to severe violations of collective obligations. Then, the article discusses international responsibilities arising in case of violations of international law committed with EU-provided weapons: not only Ukraine would be liable, but also the EU and its Member States (MS) could be co-responsible for not having adequately assessed the misuse of the weapons or their diversion. Indeed, the accountability framework would appear tripartite and divided between Ukraine, the recipient state, the EU, the formal sender, and its Member States, who fund the assistance measure through an off-budget fund. European Union, Member States, External Actions, European Peace Facility, Invasion, Sending Weapons, Law of Neutrality, Accountability, Complicity, Intergovernmentalism

In view of the contemporary challenges and threats, European Union’s efforts in the area of civil and military capacity building are extremely important. As an international organization having a high impact on third countries, the European Union plays a key role in conflict prevention and crisis response. In external governance EU has two sectoral policies at its disposal: the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). The CFSP is responsible for resolving conflicts and fostering international understanding using diplomacy and giving respect for international rules. The CSDP is responsible for carrying out civilian and military missions as well as for diffusing rules, which affect, in various respects, the improvement of security management in third countries through their incorporation. By adopting today’s global approach, both military and civilian, to crisis management and continuing to strengthen its capacity for action and analytical tools, the European Union is becoming a major security vector at international level, and its Common Security and Defense Policy expeditionary missions are the tangible proof.

For some time already, the international security community has been at a crossroads and looking for new right directions. The established operational guidelines have changed, and in some areas, it seems that they simply no longer exist. There are many factors which have had an effect on the relatively high level of security we have witnessed in the last few years. The financial crisis, which started to show its teeth in 2008 and 2009, has seriously changed the European armed forces, their structure, organization and development. Many comforted themselves that this does not constitute a significant problem, since we are relatively safe. Public opinion surveys in Slovenia revealed that most of all, people feel threatened by natural disasters and socio-economic situation. However, gradually but relatively quickly, everything has changed. In the spring of 2014, Crimea held a referendum on its annexation to the Russian Federation. The rattling of weapons began, provoking different reactions in the international community and resulting in altered relations between NATO and Russia. These changes were also discussed at the July NATO Summit in Warsaw. Two years earlier, in 2012, the media increasingly reported on the soaring migration problems in the Mediterranean Sea and difficulties suffered by Italy due to those phenomena. By the end of last year, migrations from the Southeast reached unimaginable proportions and gave a profound shock to the foundations of the European Union. Some terrorist attacks in European cities, which were said to be organized and carried out by migrants, had a significant impact on the altered understanding of the new (in)security. Some experts adopted a scientific approach to the new understanding of safety. The Defence Research Centre of the Faculty of Social Sciences, for example, published the results of a survey on the opinions of the Slovenian public regarding safety, which was carried out in 2015/2016. Among other things, the findings show that the recent migrant crisis has affected the Slovenian public, which perceives mass migrations as well as illegal and economic migrants as an important reason of concern. The authors of the survey observed a marked increase in the acceptance of the idea that in the protection of borders from illegal crossings, the Police are assisted by the Slovenian Armed Forces. A significantly high number of people also agreed with the idea that the armed forces should help in the fight against terrorism which, before the occurrence of mass migrations, was unthinkable. According to the authors of the survey, in the last three years, the support of the Slovenian public to the participation of Slovenia in international operations and missions has also grown by more than 20 percent. In addition, the proportion of the public which supports proposals to increase the defence budget has gone up. But will it actually increase, and how soon? We are still waiting for the new European defence strategy. We are anticipating new solutions, agreements between the decision-makers, etc. In the meantime, different authors went through various experiences. Some of them have decided to share them with our readers. In his article Fourth Generation Warfare: Geopolitical Framework to Slovenian Security (Part 1),Viktor Potočnik explores the issue of how geopolitics impacts the global security situation, what are the contemporary security risks and how they can affect Slovenia. In ensuring national security, the Slovenian Armed Forces play an important role. Consequently, Potočnik raises the question of whether they have a sufficient level of readiness to withstand potential risks, and presents the facts which he believes can have a key influence on the Slovenian national security. Cyber threats represent one of the most modern forms of security threats. In the previous issue of the Contemporary Military Challenges, Vinko Vegič provided the definition of cyber threats. This issue continues this theme with the article NATO and Cyber Deterrence, written by Staša Novak. According to her, NATO is de facto already pursuing certain elements of cyber deterrence based on strong defence, declaratory policy and responsive measures. However, responsive measures are not NATO offensive cyber capabilities, but the possibility of a collective defence response to a cyber attack, which implies a response with all available means. The increased number of migrants on their way to a better future has surprised many people in the Balkans, although numerous institutions and individuals had warned of this possibility before. Some experiences and responses of Slovenia’s neighbour, Hungary, are presented in an article by József Padányi and László Földi, titled Lessons Learned for the Hungarian Defence Forces from the Deployment of Engineer Obstacles during the 2015 Europe-Wide Mass-Migration Emergency. The article focuses mainly on the activities of the Hungarian armed forces. Metodi Hadji-Janev and Marija Jankuloska point out that the region of South- Eastern Europe has witnessed some examples of terrorist attacks and observe that the use of drones for countering global terrorism proved to be effective. Their article The Challenges of Drone Usage by Southeast European Countries examines the possibilities of their use in the home region. In his article titled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the International Fight against It, József Kis-Benedek discusses the origins of this phenomenon and its manifestations in various Middle East countries, as well as the response of those countries and other international actors who share an interest in this part of the world. He also calls attention to the question of the Kurds and the emergence of volunteer fighters who are coming to Syria and Iraq to fight. The Battalion Battle Group and the evaluation of its training is the subject of the article titled Battle Group Training Cycle, in which Aleš Avsec compares the methods of training of these units in the Slovenian Armed Forces with the training of similar units in the United States of America. Is it even possible to compare two countries which are that different?

Since September 11, 2001, most expert commentary on radiological weapons has focused on nonstate actors, to the neglect of state-level programs. In fact, numerous countries in the past have expressed interest in radiological weapons; a number have actively pursued them; and three tested them on multiple occasions before ultimately deciding not to deploy the weapons. Why is so little known about these false starts, especially outside the United States? Are such weapons more difficult to manufacture than depicted by science-fiction authors and military pundits? Are radiological weapons a thing of the past, or do they remain an attractive option for some countries? A comparative analysis of the previously underexplored cases of radiological weapons programs in the United States and the Soviet Union illuminates the drivers and limitations of weapons innovation in one specific nuclear sector. An examination of the rise and demise of radiological weapons programs in both countries also points to circumstances in the future that might prompt renewed interest on the part of some states in radiological weapons and proposes steps that might be undertaken to reduce the possibility of their production, deployment, and use.

In the article "US Biological Weapons - Myth or Reality?" from April 10, 2018 provides information about the conference held on March 7, 2018 in the European Parliament and was devoted to biosafety and readiness of Europe to the threat of biological weapons. It was attended by a well-known Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaitandzhieva, who conducted her own investigation into the activities of secret US biolaboratories. According to her, biological weapons are being developed at facilities operating under the guise of medical centers in 25 countries. During the conference, says Gaitandzhieva, she desperately tried to find out why the number of outbreaks of infections has risen sharply in the countries where American biolaboratories are located. First of all, Dilyana addressed the US Assistant Secretary of Health, Robert Kadlec, who spoke at the conference.

Introduction. This paper analyzes the history of development of the European Union’s political and military cooperation. The author gives an in-depth review of the origins of the European integration, its reasons and key political figures who played the crucial role in this process. The author shows that the establishment of cooperation between West European countries right after 1945 dealt with projects that were not implemented. Much attention is paid to the activities of the Western European Union (WEU) that played a considerable role in shaping the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. The article also presentshow different the members of the European Union are, how the views of the European countries vary in many areas and how difficult it is to coordinate the positions of the member-states on important issues concerning the foreign, security and defense policy of the European Union.Materials and methods. Building on the system analysis of the theories of international relations, international integration and the materials of related sciences such as political and conflict resolution studies the author considers the development stages of the European countries’ political and military collaboration from the establishment of the EuropeanDefense Community to the European Political Cooperation.Results. Proceeding from the results of the analysis the author concludes that the activities aimed to build military and political collaboration of the European states had laid a solid foundation to establish the second pillar of the EU - the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) by the time the Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992.Discussion and conclusions. The materialsof this paper describe the stages and historicalroots of the development of the military and political collaboration of the European countries. Complexities and contradictions that are inherent in this process explain the challenges the EU’s current foreign, security and defense policies have to face.

In the article the Great Britain’s contribution to the development of military-technical cooperation between the countries of the European Union is analyzed. It was found that the British leadership conducted ambiguous policies on military-technical cooperation (MTC) of the European integration. The desire to win the priority in the European MTC was combined with the provision of British companies the benefits of cooperation with American partners. British military-industrial complex became a rival of the military-industrial complex of the states of continental Europe. The position of Great Britain has become one of the obstacles to the formation of a single European arms market. The exit of the kingdom from the EU can stimulate the process of creating a single European militaryindustrial complex, in which France and Germany, supported by other influential industrial states (Italy, Spain, etc.) will dominate. The British military-industrial complex will continue to have a significant impact on the European MTC machinery, which relatively successfully operates outside the EU.

On February 24, 2022, russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. This situation has radically changed the relations between the states, marked a point of no return in the relations between the once fraternal peoples, changed the vectors and priorities for the further development of Ukraine, and created new challenges in all spheres of its life. Moreover, the war in the center of Europe affected the world economy as a whole and the economy of many individual countries, as well as migration and sociopolitical processes. All this was reflected in the change in the research priorities in the world and, in particular, in Ukraine. The purpose of this study is to formulate generalized proposals on ways to counter russia’s military aggression. The article analyzes: World Military Strength Ranking 2022, losses of the russian armed forces as of 15.06.2022; changes in the number of personnel, weapons and equipment of Ukraine’s Armed Forces in 1991-2021. Also a comparative quantitative assessment of the armed forces of Ukraine and russia in 2021 was carried out, considering weaknesses and miscalculations in the formation and development of independent Ukraine that had allowed a full-scale war to take place on its territory. The military potential of the Ukrainian and Russian armies in 1991 and 2021 is compared, new types of weapons developed in Ukraine are considered. The results of Delphi analysis of the Ukrainian defense industry clusters necessary for asymmetric deterrence against an external aggression over the time horizon until 2030 are presented. The ways to provide Ukraine’s Armed Forces with the main types of weapons and military equipment are defined. The conducted research has allowed us to determine that russia, being a country with geopolitical ambitions, will always present a threat to Ukraine, so the national security of our country must be built with consideration for the military and economic strength of the aggressor country. Сonsequently Ukraine must enter into at least one military and economic alliance with other European and world countries. Moreover, Ukraine must have a strong diversified defense industry complex, which will produce its own competitive weapons and military equipment both independently and jointly with other European and world countries or under licenses from foreign manufacturers. Ukraine’s Armed Forces must have such a structure of their services and branches that would allow them to withstand threats from the russian armed forces or asymmetric types of weapons and military equipment that would make it possible to conduct the 2nd, 3rd and 6th generation war.

Despite existing regulations on weapon acquisition, possession, trade, transfer over the border on EU and UN level, for a long time an issue of deactivation had not been addressed by EU in a comprehensive way until December 2015, the aftermath of the series of terrorist attacks in several EU Member States. . For some years after the amended Firearms Directive 2008/15/EC had come into force, except for the framework guidelines, there was neither a sense of common understanding for the concept of deactivation, nor definite, technical requirements for all EU Member States. In result, deactivated firearms that were legally transferred or illegally trafficked within EU territory were very likely to be reactivated by criminals and re-introduced into illicit weapon market. The article describes the path that has finally led to the establishment of the EU requirements on deactivation, presenting on the other hand, the struggle for the set-up of sound anti-reactivation provisions by one of the newest countries on the European map, that is Kosovo. This young state has had to overcome the post conflict situation and has started to introduce a versatile control over the civilian weapon market. As Kosovo has been strictly cooperating with EU and UN on public security related issues, the topic of regulating the weapon market became one of the issues of legitimate concern both for Brussels and Pristina. In case of the deactivation, Kosovo authorities assisted by international experts, prepared comprehensive solutions in their domestic legislation, which came into force long before the establishment of EU common guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques for ensuring that deactivated firearms are rendered irreversibly inoperable set in December 2015.

As a result of the analysis of defence spending in European countries for the period 1990–2022, the author reveals a trend towards underfunding of their defence-industrial base. Due to the fall in defence spending, there is a reduction in European defence companies in Europe, some companies go into the commercial sector, the other part is trying to consolidate. The armed forces of European countries conduct exercises and fight on a multinational basis, and purchase weapons on a national basis. This situation does not allow industrial enterprises to consolidate demand, which makes it possible to increase production volumes. By researching the state of the defense-industrial base of European countries, it becomes evident that there are disagreements between the states of Europe about which is better to buy samples of weapons. Some are in favor of purchases in the United States, others – for joint European projects, and others – for national ones. For example, for fighters, we are talking about choosing between the F‑35, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale or SAAB. A study of data on arms exports from the United States to Europe shows that Europe has lost its status as the main export destination of the United States. The results of research illustrate that the procurement of weapons is a long and complex process, the programming of the construction of the armed forces and the costs are planned, taking into account the threats of tomorrow, in advance. The research findings indicate that the prevailing conditions of peace and stability of the last 30 years have shaped the image of the defense industrial base of European countries unable to produce military products in large quantities and in a short time. The author comes to the conclusion that the ambitions of Europe exceed the available resources.

Many find the prospect of military unions totally inimical to the nature and functioning of the armed forces. Yet, a number of countries allow some form of military unionism, while others vehemently resist any form of independent union based on the premise that this undermines discipline, cohesion, and loyalty. This article examines how four different countries – the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, and Germany – have dealt with the issue of military unionism. The British Armed Forces, like many other English-speaking countries, have tended to approach employee relations from a typically unitarist position, which translates into union suppression or avoidance. The Canadian Armed Forces opted to circumvent the need for a military union by adopting a more human relations or neo-unitarist approach to employee relations. In South Africa, the military has been obliged by legal decree to accept a more pluralist dispensation, which has led to an overtly confrontational employment relationship. In Germany, where a union-like professional association exists, the approach has been more cooperative, even corporatist, typifying the European experience and philosophy towards unions, even in the military. In analysing the management of employee relations from these different typologies, the implications of union avoidance and acceptance within the armed forces are evaluated.

Purpose of the study: This scientific publication aims to analyse military strategy in the context of political and social conditions as a reaction to the events of 11 September 2001. Methodology: Based on the resources of the Internet and a critical analysis of the literature on the subject, a detailed analysis, dynamics and development of the military strategy of the US and EU services was made against the background of historical events, in the context of peacekeeping missions. Taking into account the effectiveness of the implemented peacekeeping missions concerning the security of EU countries. Main findings: Cooperation between the US and EU countries affects the sense of security, with appropriate diplomacy, shaping a positive image of the state, concluding international agreements, implementing the assumptions of cooperation, and supporting countries on many levels, including the military. Application of the study: The presented research relates to the legal sciences with a specific reference to the research field in the field of national security and defence. Original/Novelty of the study: The research analyzed the effectiveness of the activities carried out and its impact on the population of a given country as part of peacekeeping missions. However, as a result of a critical analysis of the scientific literature, certain conclusions were systematized in relation to the strategies that influenced the shaping of the present reality within the European Union countries.

The article states that the Crimean War of 1853–1856 showed the imperfection of the Russian army’s weapon. The growth of weapons in European countries in the post-war period urged Russia to eliminate the backlog of the Russian army in the field of weapons and to carry out fundamental reform in this field. The article considers the issues related to military reforms in Russia in the second half of the 19th century, which covered all the main areas of military construction such as recruitment and organization of troops, principles of troop management, rearmament of infantry, artillery and cavalry, a system of combat training of troops and officers. The study focuses on the fact that one of the most important and difficult problem of military reform was the rearmament of the army. The scientific novelty lies in the interdisciplinary consideration of issues related to the results of the activities of the weapons industry in manufacturing new samples of small arms and their supply to the army with the involvement of the works of domestic historians. It is concluded that although during the period of military reforms of the 1860–1870s significant success was achieved in the development of the arms industry; its production capacities were not enough to fully satisfy the army’s needs for weapons. Keywords: XIX century, Crimean war, Russian army, reforms, weapons industry, new samples of small arms, production, rearmament of the army.

After the end of World War II leaders of the West European countries had realised the necessity to create new security frameworks, thus making the security of the continent the concern of the Europeans themselves. However, immediately after it had been formed the North Atlantic Alliance, as a trans-Atlantic defence shield against the danger from the "communist East", became the central security component in Europe. Just after the end of the Cold War and disappearance of the "danger from the East" the European leaders initiated the process of creation of the new European defence system. The system would be designed in such a way not to jeopardise the position of the NATO, improving at the same time the security and stability in the continent. In the first part of the article the author considers the course of European integration in the second half of the last century that proceeded through creation of institutions preceding the establishment of the European Union. During the period of creation of this specific form of action performed by the European states at the internal and international levels, the deficiency of integration in the military field was notable. In that regard, the author stresses the role of the Western European Union as an alliance for collective defence of West European countries. The second part of the paper discusses the shaping of the EU security component through the provisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which are included in the EU agreements. The Maastricht Treaty defined the Common Foreign and Security Policy as an instrument to reach agreement by member states in the defence field. The Amsterdam Treaty confirmed the role of this mechanism expanding the authorities resulting from it. The Treaty of Nice supplements the existing mechanism by a new military and political structure that should help implement the decisions made by the European Union institutions in the military field. In the third part of the article, the author presents the facts concerning the establishment and internal organisation of the Eurocorps. The creation of this military formation took place in early 1990s and was initiated by the two states of "the old Europe" - Germany and France. The authors also emphasises that the establishment of this formation is the first step towards creation of the armed forces in Europe. The fourth part of the paper treats the Rapid Reaction Force that was established by the Helsinki Agreement (1999). It became operative in early 2003 and its basic aim is to prevent the outbreak of crises in the region and to improve stability in Europe. In spite of the opinions that the establishment of such a force is the skeleton for creation of the European armed forces, the author thinks that, at least in the near future, they will not be a rival to the NATO. In his opinion, their possible military missions will be carried out only when the alliance takes no interest in being engaged in them.

Comprehensive studying the experience of state and military structures in preserving and care of military cemeteries and places of memory about the heroic actions of the Red Army outside Russia, is gaining more and more theoretical significance and practical value. The purpose of this article is to summarize the results of the study dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Soviet soldiers who perished when liberating European countries from Nazism during the Great Patriotic War (chronology of events in 1944-1991). There are no special scientific works devoted to this topic that comprehensively consider the activities of the official structures of the Soviet Union abroad. The methodological basis of the research is the modern theory of society cognition, based on the concept of universal connections in its socio-economic, political and cultural life, and the dialectical approach to the analysis of social phenomena. The author analyses various aspects of the problem taking into account the immediate historical situation, reveals objective patterns that determined the goals and content of the process of preserving the memory of fallen Soviet soldiers, he studies the activities of the official structures of the Soviet Union abroad to perpetuate the memory of the Red Army soldiers who perished during the Great Patriotic War when liberating European countries from Nazism. In the course of the study, the author solved a number of tasks: transformation in the order of personal casualty records in the Red Army was investigated; the features of organizing the process of burial of the deceased and creation of military cemeteries in the territory of European states were established, as well as the existing classification of military graves was confirmed; the reasons for the large-scale loss of names of Red Army soldiers who died when liberating European countries from Nazism were determined; the main stages of the process of consolidation and preservation of Soviet military cemeteries in the territory of European countries were determined; the process of creating memorial structures and objects in Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed and its features were established; implementation of commemorative practices which formed in the Soviet times the historical memory about Red Army’s liberation mission in European countries; the author defines the peculiarities of inter-state cooperation on the issues of restoration and preservation of Soviet military graves and monuments in European countries; he defines the classification of the process of perpetuating the memory of Soviet soldiers in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The study performed suggests that it was during the enlargement of the Soviet military cemeteries after the war that a large-scale loss of the names of the fallen Red Army soldiers occurred. The process of creating memorials and arranging military necropolis in the European countries had a systematic character. The Soviet Union used various commemorative practices, with the help of which the historical memory of the Red Army’s liberation mission in Europe was formed.

Soviet and East European documents provide significant revelations about the interactions of North Korea and its allies. First, they show Pyongyang's longstanding interest in obtaining nuclear technology and probably nuclear weapons. Second, they reveal that North Korea's leadership consistently evaded commitments to allies on nuclear matters—particularly constraints on its nuclear ambitions or even the provision of information. Third, North Korea's words and deeds evoked substantial concerns in Moscow and other communist capitals that Pyongyang, if it obtained nuclear weapons, might use them to blackmail its partners or risk provoking a nuclear war. When aid from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was not forthcoming, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sought to bypass Moscow and obtain assistance from the Kremlin's East European clients and, when that proved fruitless, from Pakistan. The absence of international support reinforced the logic of self-reliance and “military first,” pushing North Korea to pursue an independent line with respect to its nuclear weapons. These patterns cannot be extrapolated in a linear way, but they surely suggest reasons for caution by those hoping to engage North Korea in a grand bargain.

The main objective of the present study is to analyze the European Union defense policy on the example of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). It will be possible thanks to a comprehensive analysis of individual PESCO projects, participating countries, determinants and perspectives for the development of defense policy. The main hypothesis of the article is that although the strongest military European Union countries, relying on PESCO, seek to expand defense cooperation, this cooperation has no visible impact on increasing their armed forces. The article contains information about the genesis of the European Union Security and Defense Policy and the legal basis of Permanent Structured Cooperation, as well as a detailed list of all PESCO projects with the countries participating in them. An analysis of the implementation of PESCO projects indicates that they are dependent on external factors. This study uses methods appropriate to the science of international relations. Its research tools include an analysis of the literature on the subject, documents, and statistical data.

The European Union (EU) “realized” its Arctic interests mainly due to the entry of Denmark, and then Finland and Sweden, which forced Brussels to start developing special programs for the development of the northern and subarctic territories. Over time, the Arctic has become an increasingly important object of attention for scientists, ecologists, power engineers, the military, including those from the EU countries. It was gradually opened up as a military-strategic region, influencing the global climate, forming new logistical sea routes, and as a storehouse of resources. Given the ever-growing interest in the Arctic of the socalled non-Arctic players, primarily China, the EU is also striving to define its position in the region. Its ability to cooperate with other actors, including the Arctic Council, is limited by many factors and circumstances. Nevertheless, Brussels is clearly following the agenda of increasing its presence in the Arctic. However, given the current de facto ignorance by the Arctic Council countries of the largest Arctic state represented by Russia, the still cautious attitude towards the EU on the part of other Council members may be changed. The purpose of the article is to identify the most significant factors that determine the possibility of strengthening the EU’s position in the Arctic, as well as the circumstances that impede this strategy. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: to analyze the main aspects of the EU Arctic strategy; identify opportunities for EU interaction with Arctic institutions; indicate the influence of the Russian factor on the Arctic prospects of the EU.

The article analyzes the origins and implementation progress of the agreement between the United States, Great Britain and Australia on the formation of the triple military alliance AUKUS, which was announced on September 15, 2021. It is emphasized that the emerging military alliance is based on the concept of integrating the military-industrial complexes of the three Anglo-Saxon countries, aimed at containing and confronting the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Indo-Pacific region. The main program of action of the emerging military alliance is to equip the Australian Navy with 8 submarines with nuclear power plants. The serious military-technical difficulties that this program will face and is already facing are indicated. At the same time, the process of involving the Australian military-technical potential in the creation of a number of other weapons systems, in particular, hypersonic weapons, is also underway. The formation of AUKUS is considered in a broader aspect as a reflection of the desire of Great Britain and the United States to build a hierarchy of control of the global world order, subject to its subordination to the «collective West», in which the «closed club» of the Anglo-Saxon countries plays the main role. The transformation of the union of Anglo-Saxon countries into the main «bearing» element of the system of global hierarchical governance occurs in the context of the growing crisis of the neoliberal model of globalization, which was given universal civilizational significance at the turn of the 1980 s-1990 s. Thus, a new geopolitical and geo-economic fracture is implanted into the world civilizational space, based on the confrontation of the Western system of values and the Asian system of values, built on the synthesis of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

Although the relationship between military expenditures and economic growth is well documented for the old members of the European Union, empirically little is known for the new members. Thus, the goal of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of military expenditures in Central and Eastern European countries employing panel cointegration and causality methods for the period 1993–2013. Findings indicate that the variables in question do not move together in the long run and the direction of causality in the short run is from economic growth to military expenditures. The implications of the results for international relations are discussed.

In the new issue, our scientific journal offers you nine scientific articles. As always, we try to offer a wide variety of topics and areas and follow current trends in the history of science and technology. The issue of the journal opens with an article dedicated to the formation and development of natural history museology in Europe in the 15th–19th centuries. The development of scientific knowledge at that time affects the idea of the world order and the place of man in it, and the combination of knowledge with practical experience leads to the birth of true science. It is shown that one of the most important components of the development of natural sciences, in particular biological sciences, was the collection of naturalia (i.e. objects of natural origin), the rapid surge of interest in which contributed to the Great Geographical Discoveries. In chronological order, the further historical development of museum work from private collections in Italy to the formation of a prototype of a genuine museum, which performs the main museum functions such as amassment, storage and demonstration of collections, is considered. The article by Leonid Griffen and co-authors considers the object and subject of the history of science and technology, its place in the system of sciences. Today, more and more people are turning to the factors that determine the interaction of the society with the environment (productive forces of the society), to study which in the historical aspect and called a special scientific discipline the history of science and technology. The composition and development of the technosphere and noosphere are considered in the article. It is shown that the functioning of the technosphere is based on its interaction with the noosphere, which provides information about the environment and controls the effectiveness of interaction with it. It is formed by combining the mental structures of individuals through sign systems. The production process that ensures the functioning of the society begins with the noosphere, which through individual consciousness controls the actions of each individual, who through the means of production (technosphere) interacts with the natural environment. However, the gradual development of productive forces leads at some point to the fact that the information needed by the individual to perform all necessary actions for the benefit of the society, ceases to fit in his individual consciousness. As a result, there is a new social phenomenon the social division of labor. The cardinal solution to the problem is the prospect of humanity entering infinite space. The article by Jun-Young Oh and Hyesook Han is devoted to the study of what Understanding mathematical abstraction in the formularization of Galileo's law. Galileo's revolution in science introduced an analytical method to science that typifies the overall modern thinking of extracting, abstracting, and grasping only critical aspects of the target phenomena and focusing on “how”, which is a quantitative relationship between variables, instead of “why”. For example, to him, the question of 'why does an object fall' is of no significance; instead, only the quantitative relationship between distance from the falling object and time is important. Yet, the most fundamental aspect of his idea is that he introduced a quantified time t. Because, according to atomic theory, vacuum exists between an atom and an object composed of atoms or between objects – ignoring factors that interfere with motion, such as friction – the space for absolute time, which is a mathematical time, can be geometrically defined. In order to justify this mathematical abstraction strategy, thought experiments were conducted rather than laboratory experiments, which at that time were difficult to perform. The article by Vasyl Andriiashko and co-authors provides a thorough overview of the evolutionary process of the emergence, establishment, and development of the Kyiv school of artistic textiles. It reveals the influence of various factors (ideological, political, economic, and aesthetic) on this process. The historical and factual method allowed us to study socio-economic, as well as historical and cultural factors that contributed to the emergence, establishment, and development of the Kyiv textile school in a chronological sequence. It is established that the very fact of emergence of the Kyiv school of artistic textile, as a community of style, unity of forms, preservation, and continuity of traditions, had unbiased backgrounds since Ukrainian decorative weaving, a part of which is Kyiv weaving, inherited the abundant artistic traditions that were created over the centuries and most vividly manifested through the art of Kyivan Rus. In the next article, the authors Artemii Bernatskyi and Mykola Sokolovskyi is devoted to the study history of military laser technology development in military applications. For better understanding and systematization of knowledge about development of historical applications in the military field, an analysis of publicly known knowledge about their historical applications in the leading world countries was conducted. The study focuses on development that was carried out by the superpowers of the Cold War and the present era, namely the United States, the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China, and were built in metal. Multiple avenues of various applications of laser technology in military applications were studied, namely: military laser rangefinders; ground and aviation target designators; precision ammunition guidance systems; non-lethal anti-personnel systems; systems, designed to disable optoelectronics of military vehicles; as well as strategic and tactical anti-air and missile defense systems. The issues of ethical use of laser weapons and the risks of their use in armed conflicts, which led to an international consensus in the form of conventions of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, were also considered. As a result of the analysis, a systematic approach to the classification of applications of laser technology in military products by three main areas of development was proposed: ancillary applications, non-lethal direct action on the human body and optical devices of military equipment, and anti-aircraft and anti-missile defensive systems. The author of the following article considered the front line transporter as the embodiment of the USSR military doctrine in the middle of the 20th century. The paper based on a source analysis of the history of creation, design, and production of LuAZ-967, LuAZ-967M, against the background of the processes of implementing projects of small tactical high mobility wheeled vehicles for the armies of European countries, shows that the developing, testing, and commissioning a front line transporter became a deepening of the process of motorization of the Soviet army. The designs of similar vehicles have been analyzed. An attempt to assess the degree of uniqueness of the front line transporter design and its place in the history of technology, as well as its potential as a reminder of science and technology has been made. An analysis of the front line transporter design, its systems, compared with its foreign counterparts, suggests that it is a Soviet refinement of the concept of a small army vehicle, a more specific means directly for the battlefield. At the same time, it was developed taking into account foreign developments and similar designs, imitating individual designs, adapting to the capabilities of the USSR automotive industry. The next article is devoted to the study, generalization and systematization of scientific knowledge about the history of the establishment, development and operation of the regional railway system in Bukovyna in the second half of XIX – early XX centuries. The authors attempted to analyze the process of creation and operation of railways in Bukovyna during the reign of the Austro-Hungarian Empire based on a wide range of previously unpublished archival documents, periodicals, statistical literature and memoirs. The article studies the development of organizational bases for the construction of railways, the activity of the communication network management, lists a whole range of requirements and tasks set for railway transport in Bukovyna, the progress of their implementation, considers successes and difficulties in this work. The purpose of the article by authors Sana Simou, Khadija Baba and Abderrahman Nounah is to reveal, recreate as accurately as possible the characteristics of an archaeological site or part of it. The restoration and conservation of monuments and archaeological sites is a delicate operation. It requires fidelity, delicacy, precision and archaeological authenticity. Research during the last two decades has proved that 3D modeling, or the digital documentation and visualization of archaeological objects in 3D, is valuable for archaeological research. The study has opted for the technique of terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry by 3D surveys of architectural elements, to develop an archetype of the deteriorated Islamic Marinid site (a dynasty between the 13th and 15th centuries), and the Roman site (25 BC), located at the Chellah archaeological site in Rabat and Salé cities. The data acquired build an architectural database to archive and retrieve the entire existing architecture of monuments. This study has been completed by photogrammetrists, architects, and restorers. The issue of the journal ends with an article devoted to the analyzing the prerequisites and conditions for the foundation of an aircraft engine enterprise in Ukraine. Based on the retrospective analysis, the prerequisites and conditions of the foundation of the aircraft engine enterprise in Aleksandrovsk, Ukraine, were considered. There was a severe gap between the Russian Empire and European countries in the development pace of the aviation industry during World War I. This prompted the Russian Empire to raise foreign capital, as well as attract technologies and specialists to develop aircraft engineering and other industries. By 1917, the plant had gained the status of Russia’s largest engine-building enterprise in terms of building area and one of the best in equipment. It is evident that the beginning of aircraft engine production in Aleksandrovsk relates to the establishment of a branch of Petrograd Joint Stock Company of Electromechanical Structures and the plant’s purchase from the Moznaim brothers. We hope that everyone will find interesting useful information in the new issue. And, of course, we welcome your new submissions.

Of the nine countries known to have nuclear weapons, six are located in Asia and another, the United States, borders the Pacific Ocean. Russia and China were the first Asian nations with nuclear weapons, followed by Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Most of the world's nuclear powers are reducing their arsenals or maintaining them at historic levels, but several of those in Asia—India, Pakistan, and North Korea—continue to pursue relentless and expensive programs of nuclear weapons development and production. Hopefully, the nuclear agreement reached in July 2015 between Iran, the European Union, and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council will be a step toward eliminating nuclear weapons throughout Asia and the rest of the world. As we will discuss below, any country possessing a nuclear arsenal is on a path leading toward self-assured destruction, and is a threat to people everywhere on Earth.

The main reasons for climate change which are explained in this article are as follows: -Climate pollution by gases with CO2 emission and Greenhouse Effect; Climate contamination of viruses with viruses from nature by animals or glaciers when thawing or produced in Laboratories; Induced Climate Change due to meteorological weapons with high intensity radio waves to produce rains, hurricanes and possible induction of earthquakes; Climate pollution by radiation due wars with irreversible consequences in the climate and Nuclear Winter; Climate Change due the explosion of missiles and atomic weapons in the oceans; Climate Change due the natural cyclical phases of the Earth affected by the cyclical variations of the Earth's magnetic field lines which can be affected by the severe cyclical activity of the sun due storms and sunspot because of the combustion that occurs inside the Sun which is due to the gravitational instabilities produced by the planets of the solar system, asteroids or the Comet Planet; Climate Change due to the invading Comet Planet into the solar system that affects with its gravitational field to the sun with solar storms and the planets with variation of the magnetic field lines affecting the climate, earthquakes and activation of volcanoes and indeed with the entry of many meteors and asteroids to the Earth; Climate change due to the Arm of God Allah explaining all the above reasons being more evident in times of Tribulation. The specific methods and devices of the control and manipulation of the population (inclusive to induce to the concupiscence) in times of new world order (Universal Big Brother Program for the control of human in the Earth) and possible Tribulation are explained in this article: Surveillance programs with all technological devices and networks used by humans systematic methods of persuasive manipulation and indoctrination used by some zombie humans and dark; Through the subjugation of employees and humans (inclusive children teaching them how to manipulate in the same style of the zombies); By enterprises or dark groups so that employees make manipulation games with details (investing work time to play like children) receiving bribes, money or labor benefits or with possible retaliation if they do not obey; Surveillance programs in living and working places with covert technological cameras, coincidence games, activities, plans and events programmed in sequence (inclusive pyrotechnic sounds in sequence); Covert numbers and words (in identification documents, cards, car plates, devices used by humans); Encrypted, hidden codes or small phrases and numbers not visible to the naked eye concealed in objects; Covert words in the speech of zombie humans and from multimedia and channels of traditional technological devices through movies, programs and even newscasts and inclusive to speak in code with the humans who know the surveillance programs and worst using in those channels and programs derogatory words against the Nazarenes (in the style of Nazism with the Jews) in complicity of close acquaintances, zombies and dark who participate profiting from the system for the vile metal; By means of an epidemic and viruses produced in laboratories creating epidemics and chaos in the Earth for the reduction and control of the population; Through strict restrictions and reduction of freedoms; Confinement with subsequent compulsory vaccination to be able to access human rights such as the right to work and the right to travel (with the cover-up of the respective organizations responsibles for it: OIT OMT), without responsibility of the authorities in charge of vaccination worldwide (OMS) for the short or long term counterproductive effects of the vaccinated population due to the risk with the liquid of the vaccines by interfering with the DNA and RNA of the population; Possible marking and elimination of many humans (possibility of control of the pulmonary alveoly or induction controlled of diseases or pain due a virus by means of chips introduced in humans); Control of humans by the introduction of liquid and solid chips in humans (liquid crystals that crystallize in the organism and settle in neurons and receive ultrasonic waves of very low frequency) (possibly inserted from vaccines in global epidemiological programs for population control or invasive medical examination when this is not necessary as a figurative example of review of a patient with a sore in the mouth and introduction of the whole hand in the throat or prostate examination or specific injections to certain objective humans or Nazarenes who have opened the matrix of the darks and the elite that controls the humans in the Earth) in times of epidemic in medical examinations and treatments in hospitals (false medical negligence with breach of the medical oath of the use of Medicine for human good). The possible liquid and solid chips introduced into the human being can be used for mind reading (telepath) and thought induction (double direction: sending and receiving messages in the style of Stephen Hawking and the style of the technology already used in sending probes into space and to the moon) and possible human marking with surveillance program and the possible creation of zombie humans. Humans who have the mind reader chip installed can speak without speaking (the dumb speak playing like the miracles of Jesus Christ). It is possible to detect if the humans who have the mental reading chip installed have psychological alterations without going to a doctor. It is possible to know if humans are good or bad without seeing their actions and without going to a priest. In this way, human beings with the chip installed can be sanctioned before they do somewhat wrong (simply because it is known to be thinking). This can be used to know the fidelity to a political guideline or direction (this is known by the strong rumor in communist countries that already have the technology to detect the fidelity to the political party and possibly this is through this chip installed in the human being and mind reading). The inserted chip can also perform thought induction: this is possibly the apocalyptic mark mentioned in the apocalypse because many humans will perform sins or concupiscence induced and not naturally. Then, this will most probably activate the Wrath of God, the seals, and the trumpets of the apocalypse. It surprises me that actually the OMS wants to bring the vaccination program to Africa when in Africa there are not many dead by the epidemy (possibly for the control and reduction of the population will be in all the Earth). Afterward, the OMS mentioned that wants to insert a manufacturing center of vaccines in many countries and inclusive vigilance programs (possibly for the control and reduction of the population will be effective at the local level). But, what the OMS needs to mention is that it is necessary to eliminate the laboratories of virus creation and not create more vaccine laboratories. Humans do not want more vaccine and injections and laboratories for the creation of vaccines but the elimination of virus laboratories which are most probably used for for the control and reduction of the population: thus, the reason for spreading a virus created in a laboratoy across the Earth is evident: population reduction and control of humanity in preparation for a global elite program (new world order or program 2030 for the control of the dark and of the elite; Connection of covert surveillance cameras (in living and working places) with channels of traditional technological devices through movies, programs and even newscasts (including newscasts that usually make signs of dumb and deaf to those who have already discovered them) used by the dark with the respective programs and in addition, to monitor and tracing to verify the induction to concupiscence through mental reading (chips in humans) and surveillance cameras on line in the best style of James Bond espionage movies (including control of faces, pupils, irises, reflections, details and diseases); Games of judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes (playing at being gods) and also profiting from the vile metal through the system and contributing to the persecution of the Nazarenes; Fake judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes because many of these sins have been induced with technology due the possible induction of thoughts by the liquid cristal settle in neurons and have not been natural (dark inducing sin through technology and playing gods to induce evil and destruction of intimacy and privacy even in the mind of the human being); Retaliation to those who report the surveillance and manipulation programs and marking of humans for mind reading (telepathy) and thought induction (making them sick sending to the hospitals or removing them); Digital identification plan and digital money to do digital control and avoid conflict and protests of marked and Nazarenes in surveillance programs who discover that there is no privacy in their documents and inclusive in theirs mind (telepathy: mind reading and thought induction: artificial intelligence): it surprises that EU mention that has a digital plan for europeans for digital control on line. But, before the epidemy, Europe and the world advanced a lot in technology and the data of humans are digitally in hospitals and institutes that humans need. After, the EU mentions artificial intelligence for human beings. Then and in vaccination and epidemy time, it is possible that the digital control is a new digital control with artifitial intelligence and with possible chips installed in the human being (possibly already installed in many human beings); Games of events and coincidences to cause accidents or conflicts in the life of marked, target or Nazarenes (change games of victim to accused by companies that regulate the order with subsequent rectification of the game made by the same companies when the Nazarenes claim); Games of recognition of the identity of human beings (in the style of the movie Unknown) by enterprises and service stations which are necessary for the daily movement of human beings creating conflicts of manipulation and stress in the marked or Nazarenes Salary payment games (payment of wages with dinners and game of check payment) creating manipulation conflicts and stress in the life of marked, target or Nazarenes Programmed plans of theft and scams of enterprises and humans even knowing of the surveillance cameras for the control of the marked, target or Nazarenes. Then, there is severe control of human beings in their daily activities to verify the follow-up of the matrix and darks that plan situations of concupiscence in the human being. Besides, this is occurring in coincidence with an accelerated new world order program and possible tribulation times and possibly already with the installation of the apocalyptic mark (possible chips introduced in the human being for mind reading and thought induction to induce concupiscence) in humans mentioned in the apocalypse for dark control of humans. The global forms of the severe manipulation and population control in times of new world order and Tribulation are explained in this article are as follows: By increasing taxes; Through armed conflicts and wars create discord, wars and chaos between countries (often bordering countries with the same origins and with the same culture: Russia and Ukraine: war motivated by US OTAN EU): To later usurp its resources (oil energy resource: US Iraq Kuwait); To later control them politically and economically (US Iraq Kuwait) and when these power or developed countries cannot control or usurp their resources, they begin to block them economically (Russia in the war between Russia and Ukraine where besides developed countries influence in the war by printing additional money to use for the war causing imbalance and global economic crisis instead of looking for ways to avoid it) in order to cause chaos and economic crisis with the knowledge and complicity of the world organizations responsible (OEA ONU) and make the population believe that the cause of the economic crisis is the government in power. However, some countries have resisted these blockades (Cuba Venezuela Nicaragua Russia China) and managed to show that it is possible to have governments independent of the control of these powers or countries that believe they own the Earth; To put rulers (governing) of interest in the same countries in conflict; To control them using the pretext of placing military bases in the countries in conflict (NATO OTAN: military bases in some European countries, US military bases: in some South American countries and some countries of Europe). In addition, this is preferable to reduce military bases in other countries and reduction of nuclear weapons, and use the financial resources for the reduction of inequity and poverty on the Earth. Thus, the organizations responsible for the proliferation of nuclear weapons (OIEA) have played an ineffective and passive (cover-up) role, which has caused the risk of a third nuclear world war to be imminent); Through the war against terror: however and actually, this is a false speech used to point to countries that oppose the control or directive of the powers and that have a culture or political structure different from that of the powers and later make conflict and war to later control them or usurp their resources (some Arab and Muslim countries, for example, US, Irak, Lybia and blaming an entire country for terrorism and occupying for years (Afganistán)). In this way and actually, some countries have developed nuclear weapons (North Korea, Iran) to protect themselves in some way and thus, the same thing does not happen to them as to the countries mentioned above (Irak, Lybia) and that have been destroyed with the false discourse of the war against terror. In this way, the best thing is to have good relations with all the countries of the Earth which are again summed in the Bible [1] in a message: Love your brother (all human beings) as yourself! (Mt.22-39) (and not to go around the Earth pointing out terrorists to any country that opposes its guidelines). Therefore, it is possible to reduce the economic resources for the war against terror which can be used to reduce poverty and inequity in human beings; Through the war against drugs: there are many other substances and products consumed by humans that can be harmful to health and that are allowed and have not become a vice (when something is forbidden: this increases the interest in obtaining it explained from the beginning of creation in Genesis [1]: an apple from the tree of good and evil in the garden of Eden: Adam and Eve). In addition, many countries have allowed the use of certain types of drugs for medical purposes (Uruguay, Bolivia) where drug use has gone unnoticed in these countries; Through religión: with a structure of religion that tries to control the population through a guideline and speeches that obey the Vatican and the actual governments of each country (which is evident when there are countries such as Nicaragua that do not follow a guideline of the church and the elite and then, the religion surprisingly actively intervenes in politics): the conclusion is reached and to which many humans have reached, that religion is a power most actually used (along with political and economic power); Through political power by means of the false argument used by politicians to reduce inequity and poverty: where a large amount of resources and money have been allocated to the political powers and rulers of many countries for centuries by the respective organizations responsable (FMI BM) without any results and in many countries poverty and inequity have increased. Besides, the bureaucracy is a structure of order and rules of management and administration used within the governments of each country that contribute to the inefficiency and manipulation of the required procedures in human life that ultimately affect the life of each human being when they require formalities that end up being complicated and time-consuming. Then, this power structure in politics, economics, and religion for the control of the population is ineffective and obeys the interests of the dark who control humans on the Earth, and is used ineffectively by the rulers (governing) of the countries who come to power precisely with the false discourse of reducing poverty and inequity; Through the pretext of climate change: severe climate change due to the emission of CO2 and the greenhouse effect is a complete fallacy. The world organizations involved with the climate (ONU) try to make humanity believe that this is the reason for the severe climatic changes that the human being has experienced on the Earth to obtain economic resources and avoid mentioning God in control of the Earth and course the climate and to avoid mentioning the Omnipotence of God [1] in the control of the Earth and the climate: the severe climate change is frequently due to solar storms and variations in the magnetic field lines of the Earth because of gravitational variations in the solar system or due to the entry of an asteroid or Comet Planet what is controlled and all the Universe by God. Therefore, the climate change is controlled by the Eternal God (wich is explained in the Bibles with a lot of examples with Moses, Josue, Hezekiah) and thus, this is better to use the resources and money for so-called climate change to reduce poverty and inequity in the Earth and increase equity in humans: Human Beings must not believe everything said by the organizations and individuals that control the humans in the Earth and that obey the directions imposed within the matrix triangle of control of the Earth; Through the sport by means of the persuasive manipulation of observers or attendees at sporting events through commercials programs, commentators (hidden words and numbers in speech), players participating in the match: with gestures or sequence of plays, numbers, words or details in the players uniform, referees (make decisión of plays in favor of a team purposely: false bad arbitration) or leading organizers committing sports corruption not applying the rules or discriminating players (Serbian, Russian and Belarusian tennis players at tennis competitions due to some tennis organizations) or teams (Russian sports clubs and inclusive the Russian national team due FIFA decision) at convenience. Besides, when there are countries in conflict or war: instead of uniting the countries in conflict by means of the sport, the respective organizations (FIFA UEFA) discriminate and increase the conflict: discriminating and not allowing the participation of tennis players (including top tennis players), Football Countries and Sport Clubs in international competitions for reasons of restrictions due to the epidemic, conflict or war (including countries that organized previous World Cups: Russia) where the interest, quality and love for this sport has increased and that must be used to unite human beings and countries and not to not allow them to participate: which increases the division and conflict between countries or humans: This is important to highlight and value the position of the ATP for deciding that the ATP does not agree that athletes from certain countries (Russia and Belarus) cannot participate in international tournaments stating that this is against the principles of merit and non-discrimination: then, this is tremendously criticizable that the organization responsible of Football (FIFA UEFA) participates in armed conflicts or war with discriminatory decisions in Football, increasing the war by not allowing countries in conflict to participate in World Cup of Football: FIFA slogan of no to racism and some form of discrimination is a complete farce and used for convenience and interest (in the same style of all the other organizations (mainly ONU, OEA, FMI, BM, VATICAN) that control humans and that in 2000 years of the coming of the Envoy of God have not been able to solve iniquity and poverty), discrimination that has been evident in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: Football is the main sport in the Earth and it is the one that can unite human beings the most and should be used as a source of union and not división; Through education: where this is used by many countries to induce and manipulate their inhabitants in a certain political direction through the dissemination of knowledge and even the textbooks of the students: many underdeveloped countries have increased illiteracy and degradation in education because this favors the politicians of the country's government: having an ignorant people who do not see what they do with the country's money and who cannot criticize them: the greatness of peoples depends on the education that gives the independence of individuals who are the ones that make the country advance; Through world organizations to control countries: ONU, OEA, Vatican, OTAN, UE: many countries have to obey the guidelines of these organizations, which often do not respond to the needs of the citizens of each country: many institutions in the countries must obey the organizations (the Vatican for the religion) in a rigid way, which is often not in accordance with the situation of the country's citizens, who often need new variants or guidelines (some organizations can cause chaos, conflict or war as for example the war of Russia with Ucrania where the possible annexation of Ucrania to the OTAN and UE is one of the reasons for the war between these two countries. Therefore, there would be no war between these two countries where without those organizations); Through world organizations of espionage (CIA, FBI, KGB, Gestapo, SS): employing persuasive interference in the countries and rulers of some undeveloped countries (some South America and Center America countries and some European, Asia and Africa countries) with the objective of the power countries of control, manipulate or destabilize countries and inclusive simple humans (using the personal data of thousands of people around the world). Through the control and intervention of the Creator God Allah which is necessary and essential in times of Tribulation at the time timely (Holy Bible: Apoc. 6 Apoc. 8:6 Apoc. 5 Apoc. 7 Apoc. 21) due to everything mentioned in this scientific research respect to the control and manipulation of the population (regarding the increase of inequity, discord, and evil among humans) which is not following the guideline given by the envoy of God 2000 years ago: Jesus Christ. Keywords: God, Allah, Jesuchrist, Bible, Creator, Education, Climate change, Population Control, Climate Pollution, Gases CO2, Greenhouse Effect, Epidemic, Viruses, Laboratory, Zombies, Dark, Elite, new world order, OMS, ONU, OEA, Vatican, OTAN, UE, FMI, BM, OIT, OMT, Meteorological weapons, Haarp, Sura, Wars, Sport, Religion, Radiation, Nuclear Winter, Sun, Magnetic field lines, Storms, Asteroids, Comet Planet, Volcanoes, Climate Catastrophies, Tribulation, Taxes, Terror, Drugs, Organizations, Inequity, Poverty, Manipulation, Indoctrination, Technological Devices, Covert technological devices, networks, Newscasts, Surveillance programs, Big Brother Program, Digital Identification Plan, Digital Money, Covert numbers and covert words, Encrypted, Hidden codes or small phrases not visible to the naked eye, Covert words in the speech of zombie humans in multimedia and traditional technological devices, Nazism, Jews, Coincidence games, Activities, Plans, Events Programmed in sequence, Pyrotechnic sounds in sequence, Games of events and coincidences to cause accidents or conflicts, Games of judgments of sin against humans and Nazarenes, Games of recognition of the identity of human beings, Unknown, Companies, Service stations, Salary payment games, Programmed plans of theft and scams of companies and enterprises, Retaliation, Marking, Reduction, False medical negligence, Medical oath, Medicine, Liquid and solid chips in humans, Liquid crystals, Neurons, Ultrasonic waves, Vaccines, Global epidemiological programs, Matrix, Dark, Elite, Mind Reading, Telepath, Thought induction, Apocalipse, Wrath of God.

The author analyses the development of EU in the new international surroundings during the last decade, also exploring the development of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). The first part treats the changes in international relations, the role of USA and the NATO evolution. With the changes in international relations that are characterized by the relative weakening of USA, the rise of the powers such as China and Russia as well as the process of globalization within the multipolar frameworks, the European Union and its members states are facing the problem of adjusting to the new conditions. The second part of the article overviews the EU development, its geostrategic priorities as well as the development of ESDP. In the last dozen of years, the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the ESDP development have gone through a dynamic evolution. The attempts of the EU countries to emancipate from USA and become a serious factor in international relations imply that it should strengthen its international identity, and the political and military components, in particular.

This article is devoted to the basic principles, stages and features of the formation of a new type of armed forces in the European Union – the pan-European army of the EU. It is noted that over the entire period of its existence, the European Union has not been able to form its own army, although attempts to implement this project have been made repeatedly – in 1999, 2003, 2004, and possibly in 2018 (in connection with the implementation of the EU program of ongoing structured cooperation PESCO). Initially, the European army was supposed to be equipped with units of all combat arms (from aviation to naval ships); its number at the initial stage should have been at least 50–60 thousands military personnel (then it was planned to increase its number to one hundred and even one hundred and fifty thousand people). However, to date, all that the EU has to intervene in armed conflicts is the multinational EU rapid reaction force, consisting of several battalion tactical groups of 1,500 persons each. These forces showed themselves quite well during the EU military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa (Somalia, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic), but they are clearly not in the full-fledged army of the European Union or even its core pulling. To compensate for these shortcomings, the PESCO program was launched in March 2018, but after two years of its implementation, the results of this program are rather modest. A good effect was achieved only in the field of «military mobility» (logistics); but on the fulfillment of a number of «obligations» of the countries participating in this program, the European Council does not even have rough information (countries refuse to give it).

The influx of migrants to European countries, including the Republic of Bulgaria, is constantly increasing from regions experiencing military conflicts and countries that are economically undeveloped. At present, the Republic of Bulgaria is regarded by asylum seekers as a transit state on their route to the economically developed European countries. The people seeking asylum in the European Union have different sociocultural, ethnical, religious, and health cultures. These differences make their adaptation to their new environment difficult and the situation creates economic, social, and health problems for the accepting countries. The enforcement of uniform European standards and laws for social and health integration of migrants facilitates the process and protects the local people from infectious diseases and social-economic problems. The analysis of documents of the European Union, from international and Bulgarian organizations, shows policies have been developed to guarantee the rights of individuals, seeking protection. A major issue for the successful adaptation of migrants is their unwillingness to observe the laws and regulations of the countries where they settle.

The article analyzes the policy in the field of international development assistance implemented by the EU in the post-Soviet space. It is shown that in the second half of the 2010s – early 2020s the largest European donor countries perceived this region as peripheral. The main part of the funds was allocated by the supranational authorities of the EU. Geographically, most official development assistance (ODA) was provided to Eastern European countries and the South Caucasus, while development assistance to Central Asia was financed on a residual basis. After the crisis in Ukraine escalated in 2022, the EU’s collective ODA increased sharply, and the country itself became the main recipient of European assistance. However, the bulk of aid is expenditure on refugees in donor countries, which is statistically recorded as ODA. Financing of projects on the territory of Ukraine itself is not so significant. In the context of the degradation of relations between Russia and the West, the EU countries are interested not so much in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy, but in using the anti-Russian potential of Ukraine. In this regard, not economic, but military assistance is of paramount importance.

The article provides an analysis of the peculiarities of the illegal weapons and ammunition market in Ukraine in the conditions of cessation of the hot stage of the conflict caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in the east of country. The article is prepared based on a study of information on the weapon seizures collected from open sources (law enforcement websites and media news resources). Grounded on this analysis, author makes an attempt to assess the likelihood of leakage of illegal military weapons to European countries. The economic and logistical preconditions of the interest of organized crime in the supply of weapons from Ukraine are considered. In general, the materials presented in the article are an additional source of criminalistics information and can serve as a basis for further analysis and research.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was founded in 1992 for military-economic cooperation of member countries and mainly reflects the intention of Russia to maintain its zone of influence on the territory of the former USSR. In continuation of this policy, an agreement was concluded on the foundation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which began its operation in 2015 and provides a certain freedom of movement of goods (services), capital and labor. These organizations provide effective interaction between the CSTO member states and the EAEU including common space between the countries and their development in a single trajectory, which allows to obtain a synergistic effect on the international arena. Thus, it is necessary to monitor the level of military-economic cooperation between the CSTO and EAEU member states. The purpose of this article was to study the challenges and threats to the Russia of military-economic cooperation of the CSTO and EAEU member states with third countries. To achieve this goal, military-economic cooperation of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia with third countries was examined and proposals were made for replacing purchases on the arms market with Russian counterparts. Some CSTO and EAEU countries seek to diversify their purchases in the arms market, providing a program of independent military development with the development of military-industrial cooperation with third countries. This situation forces Russia to ensure the development of plans for the import substitution of military products with Russian counterparts on the market of the CSTO and the EAEU. To test this hypothesis, we reviewed and analyzed publicly available statistics and documents, including data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In the course of data analysis, it was proved that Belarus, Kazakhstan and partially Armenia diversify their purchases of military equipment and weapons by actively developing military-economic cooperation with third countries, including China.

The position of small and medium size countries in international context has been studied. The main criteria of power in international relation is still the military and economic force, despite the fact that the size and resources of a country is not equivalent to its actual international influence. With the imposition of Vilsonian principles and with the creation of UN, the position of small and medium size countries has been somehow improved. It becomes even more favorable in the context of a well defined State coalition, which provides with some additional instruments of power. The European Union is the best example of a coalition providing a good framework for small and medium countries. In this article, six specifics mechanisms providing additional influence to small and medium size countries of the EU have been identified. They include the specificity of the EU legal system, decision making, the functioning of the EU bodies, the process of 'europeisation' etc.

In his presentation, the speaker focuses on the problems in relations between the United States and its European NATO allies. Firstly, he talks about the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan, that Sergey M. Rogov considers the first serious defeat of the Western countries since the foundation of NATO. At the same time, he notes the significant military and economic contribution of the U.S. allies to the operation in Afghanistan, and the fact that the US did not take into account the opinion of its allies as well as the issues that may await European countries and the alliance as a whole in this regard. Second, the speaker notes the huge difference in military spending and military capabilities between the United States and the European allies, and concludes that NATO countries will continue to be militarily dependent on the United States. In nuclear sphere, despite the approval of the START III extension by the Biden administration, European countries did not actively resist the collapse of the INF Treaty and the U.S. withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty. The forthcoming deployment of American missiles in Poland and the Baltic states will further exacerbate of the NATO-Russia crisis. J. Biden's support for the sole purpose concept, which to certain extent implies no first use of nuclear weapons, jeopardizes the U.S. security obligations towards its European allies. Fourth, there is the problem of "new" NATO members, which make minimal contribution to common security, but require economic support and protection from possible Russian aggression. In conclusion, the problem of the U.S.-China confrontation is considered, where the US is actively seeking to involve European countries.

Constructive and cooperative European Union and NATO relations are very important for global stability. But today transatlantic relation are in crisis and there is some evidence that the growing number of the disputes, including over Iraq, the Israel-Palestine conflict, dealing with "rogue states" and terrorism, are having a major impact on European foreign and security policy, and even the process of European integration. NATO adapted well after the end of the Cold War but since September 11th, however, NATO has faced something of an existential crisis. The US chose to fight the Afghan and Iraq war largely on its own, alongside European allies. Many American are stressing that NATO can only remain relevant if it is prepared and able to tackle pressing international terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. To safeguard NATO's future role the US has proposed that the European allies should help to develop a Rapid Response Force inside NATO. It wants the EU to provide troops that would be able to operate alongside America's forces. European, meanwhile, have their own set of concerns. The EU has no concept of how to deal with the world's only superpower. Too often there is a preference for bilateral as opposed to EU channels, and because of that the EU urgently needs a security strategy. The lack of a coherent EU foreign policy also inhibits the ability of the EU and if the Europeans can build a more coherent foreign policy, the US will have a greater interest in listening to what they say. EU leaders also need to assess the suitability of the EU's military doctrine and institutions for the challenges it faces. The transformation of transatlantic co-operation requires changes on both sides. Differences between the US and Europe exist but they should not be exaggerated. What is needed is to broaden the transatlantic dialogue to include the critical security challenges for both sides.

The aim of this research is to study the development as well as the known cases of military applications of laser technologies – from the first lasers employed in auxiliary systems to modern complex independent laser systems. For better understanding and systematization of knowledge about development of historical applications in the military field, an analysis of publicly known knowledge about their historical applications in the leading world countries was conducted. The study focuses on development that was carried out by the superpowers of the Cold War and the present era, namely the United States, the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of China, and were built in metal. Multiple avenues of various applications of laser technology in military applications were studied, namely: military laser rangefinders; ground and aviation target designators; precision ammunition guidance systems; non-lethal anti-personnel systems; systems, designed to disable optoelectronics of military vehicles; as well as strategic and tactical anti-air and missile defense systems. To summarize and compare the results, an analysis of a number of previous works was considered, which considered the historical development, prospects and problems of the laser weaponry development. The issues of ethical use of laser weapons and the risks of their use in armed conflicts, which led to an international consensus in the form of conventions of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, were also considered. As a result of the analysis, a systematic approach to the classification of applications of laser technology in military products by three main areas of development was proposed: ancillary applications, non-lethal direct action on the human body and optical devices of military equipment, and anti-aircraft and anti-missile defensive systems. Due to the constant comprehensive modernization of laser technology systems in use, it was decided not to use the periodic classification model, but to indicate important and key events that indicated the main directions of further developmental work. However, it is important to note that the main focus of historical development of laser weapons depended not only on the technological limitations of the time, but also on the military-geopolitical situation in the world.

The Article examines the military and political integration of Scandinavia in the European security architecture after 1945 and analyzes the historical experience of the countries of the North Europe in the late 1940s-1960s in the security space issues. Particular attention is paid to the close link between the military and political rapprochement with the processes of the economic, technological and political integration in the Western European region. It is emphasized that the economic basis of common interests encourages the EU member states all the time to seek peaceful means to resolve possible disputes. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of alternative approaches to the European security that the North European countries have used in their foreign policy. The role and place of these countries in the sphere of the European security during the late 1940s-1960s was determined. The influence of the USA and the USSR on the formation of the foreign policy of the Scandinavian countries, especially the pressure of the Soviet Union on Finland in its attempts to get a neutral state status, has been shown. The reasons for the failure to implement the military and political cooperation projects in the form of the Scandinavian Defense Alliance have been revealed.

In the study of comparative foreign policy, two schools of thought disagree over what accounts for variations in processes and outcomes of foreign policies within and between states. One holds that differences in the characteristics of the countries in question lead to differences in their foreign policies. The other argues that the important differences are not between countries but between issue-areas. A comparison of the Soviet Union and the United States in the issue-area of military policy (in particular, the process of weapons innovation) suggests that the policy processes differ substantially, contrary to what an issue-area approach would predict. On the other hand, the distinctions made by some students of political economy who focus on domestic structures appear to account well for differences between the U.S. and Soviet processes of innovation. The domestic structural approach should be applied to the study of comparative military policy as well as foreign economic policy.

Europe has undergone various security changes in the past and needs to prepare itself for managing the present and future security challenges appearing on the horizon. Within Central Europe, we can see a significant change in its security orientation and a gradual development by continuous involvement in security initiatives such as the current EU-led PESCO. This article aims to show the present Visegrad Group (V4) interest in maintaining an autonomous European security, as well as to analyse the current possibilities and security capabilities of Central European countries. The V4 countries are an important part of NATO and the European Union, even though they are small to medium-sized countries with limited security capabilities. Participation in the creation of collective security under NATO has a stable, several-year position in the countries, but the European Union is on the rise in its security agenda, and that is assumed by the V4 countries with its participation in EU initiatives such as PESCO and the integrated involvement of the V4 in ongoing military projects.

After a decade of sporadic cooperation between newly emergent Russia and the countries of the West, differences have mounted to the point where the two sides now confront one another with alternative visions of a future Europe – especially Central and Eastern Europe – and relations that mirror some of the worst days of the Soviet-Western cold war. The central issues in the dispute include Moscow’s commitment to rebuilding ‘Greater Russia,’ the European Union (EU)’s goal of surrounding itself with stable democratic states, and the fact that these goals conflict in post-Soviet Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The revival of the Russian economy and political system under Vladimir Putin has enabled Moscow to use various forms of coercive diplomacy, including outright military intervention, to pursue its goals. The EU’s support for democratic governances in the region is viewed in Moscow as a direct challenge to Russia’s interests and to the Russian state itself. The result has been a confrontation between the two sides, as Russia challenges the very nature of the liberal international system put into place by the EU and its U.S. allies in the post-World War II period. It is important to note that the US-Russian relationship overlaps with and contributes to the standoff in Europe.