Reforming European Union conflict policy in the context of the crisis in Ukraine

Introduction: in 2020 the European Union (EU) reviewed its key documents designed as guidelines for peacekeeping practices; this was aimed at broadening the geography of participation, ensuring more efficient interaction between government and non-governmental structures, as well as providing more flexibility in dealing with parties of conflict zones. For the past three decades, the EU’s peacekeeping activities have changed drastically, turning mainly into a factor of European “soft power” and influence expansion.