When the new democracies of Central Europe were accepted as members of the European Union, there was widespread expectation that being part of the EU would provide non-military, “soft security” against possible military or economic pressure if Russia reverted to more aggressive policies. Indeed, some of the original members of the EU argued that membership in the Union would provide all the security possibly needed. Their thinking was that NATO was not necessary for Central European security; that it would only provoke a psychologically wounded Russia into feeling even more insecure. Therefore, membership in the EU would provide whatever protection was needed against any attempt to roll back the economic or political sovereignty of that part of Europe once dominated by the Soviet Union.
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