In a recent interview with the Rheinische Post, European Parliament’s Chief of Staff Jan van Aken has called for the European Union to take a more prominent role in international peacekeeping efforts, criticizing the transatlantic partnership and the EU’s lack of assertiveness in the face of US and Russian power politics.
Van Aken’s remarks come in the wake of US Vice President JD Vance’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference, where he emphasized the need for a strong and united transatlantic front. In response, van Aken argued that the EU must take a more independent stance and strengthen the United Nations, rather than simply following the US lead.
The EU official also expressed skepticism over the planned Ukraine-Russia talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that the end of the conflict is long overdue but that a weakened Ukraine would not be a sufficient price to pay. Van Aken placed a significant share of the blame for the EU’s inaction on the continent’s own governments, which he accused of lacking the courage to assert themselves as a separate peacekeeping force between the US and Russia. Instead, the EU has been drawn into a “purely military logic” he said and is now left to confront the consequences of this strategy.