Europeans have serious flaw — lack of motivation, says professor

Ihor Todorov, Professor of the Department of International Studies and Public Communications, and Director of the Center for International Security and Euro-Atlantic Integration at Uzhhorod National University, stated this on Espreso TV. 

“I think there is indeed some behind-the-scenes competition, although publicly it is stated that there is cooperation and alignment of positions. To a certain extent, Macron can be considered the initiator, and through this, he wants to raise the status and role of France in world and European politics. The United Kingdom, which is not constrained by the European Union, also wants to play its own role. And Germany as well. But I would like to return to the shortcomings,” said the professor of Uzhhorod National University.

At the same time, despite the fact that all three countries are economically powerful and have well-equipped armed forces, Ihor Todorov believes that Europeans have a serious weakness — a lack of motivation, as they are used to living in peace.

“In my opinion, there is a very significant flaw — the lack of motivation. European societies are used to living in peace. Under the American nuclear umbrella, under NATO’s umbrella in general. But when it comes to mobilization — internal mobilization, the motivation for action, including discussions about this mission on the territory of Ukraine — it’s hard to imagine, but in principle, we can imagine how European societies will react if people start dying. And that is not out of the question,” he said.

What is the Coalition of the Willing and who is part of it?

The Coalition of the Willing refers to countries that have pledged support to Ukraine in its war with Russia and assistance in establishing peace in Ukraine. Most of them have expressed the possibility of providing peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, or at least have not ruled it out. The creation of this coalition was announced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the summit of 18 world leaders held in London on March 2, 2025.

The initiative aims to strengthen European support for Ukraine amid unstable U.S. policies and to lay the groundwork for a strong peace settlement to end the Russia-Ukraine war. It is led by the United Kingdom and France. The Coalition of the Willing also includes other EU countries, the European Union itself, and states that are not members of either NATO or the EU. There is no official list of participants, but the following countries are considered part of it: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia), the Netherlands, Sweden, Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Romania, Norway, Finland, Turkey, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others.

Notably, on March 27, a summit of the Coalition of the Willing took place in Paris, organized by French President Emmanuel Macron.