The European Union and Achieving Peace in Ukraine

Abstract

The war between Ukraine and Russia does not only harm their respective populations: the rest of Europe is heavily affected. While some welfare losses for the EU are salient, the most significant one is not: it is the risk that the war escalates into a major nuclear conflict. A promising policy to minimize those losses exploits the desire of both Ukrainians and Russians to join the EU. I propose that they should if they immediately cease all fighting and subscribe to a distinctive, incentive-compatible, peace agreement brokered by the EU. Such an agreement would come at small costs to the EU, costs that would vanish in comparison to the risk of nuclear holocaust.