Dear friends and colleagues,
 
We look back on a year that has brought war back to Europe. Although there have been regional wars and conflicts since 1989, they have remained peripheral, especially from the perspective of EU Europeans. This has changed with the Russian attack on Ukraine. The fear of war and conflict, the worry about uncontrolled escalation are back. 2022 will be remembered as the year of the “Zeitenwende”. Russia's war against Ukraine is a trigger for deeper changes. The decoupling of fossil fuels from Russia has been initiated, unilateral dependencies on markets or supplier countries are increasingly perceived as risks, the military has regained greater political significance, because instead of the peace dividend, national defence now dominates the discourse.

The Zeitenwende is a caesura in a century already rich in caesuras. The financial crisis, the euro crisis, the refugee crisis, Corona, the war against Ukraine and the overshadowing climate crisis are painful reminders that we have arrived in the age of polycrises. This requires the ability to keep track of things, to face several challenges simultaneously and in equal measure, to tolerate contradictions and to develop long-term strategies.

We would like to thank all of you for working with us on these challenges this year. In the spirit of the idea of cooperation that guides us, we will also try in the coming year to develop and discuss ideas and concepts with you in order to strengthen security in Europe and to develop a perspective for lasting peace. This may seem distant and fragile at the moment, but it remains - in Christmas terms - the guiding star by which we orient ourselves.
 
In this spirit, we wish you happy holidays and a good and peaceful new year - if it is better than 2022, we would all be happy already.

Nicole and Christos Katsioulis
& the Team of FES ROCPE