Geopolitics of Sustainability: How Strategic Autonomy and Economic Security Are Reshaping Sustainable Development in the European Union

Abstract

Contemporary sustainable development is affected by geopolitical competition, geoeconomic fragmentation and growing strategic uncertainty. These developments challenge conventional assumptions on which sustainability governance is based and raise questions about the relationship between sustainable development, economic security and strategic autonomy. This article examines how geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations are reshaping sustainable development within the European Union and assesses their implications for the future evolution of the European development model. The analysis is based on a qualitative analysis of policies and documents in key EU strategic frameworks, legislative instruments, sustainability reports and the academic literature. Particular attention is paid to the European Green Deal, the European Economic Security Strategy and the Europe 2026 Sustainable Development Report. Sustainable development now depends not only on environmental and social outcomes but also on resilience, secure access to key resources and technologies and the ability to adapt to external disruptions. Economic security and strategic autonomy do not emerge as competing priorities but as enabling conditions for the implementation of sustainability goals. This article argues that sustainability governance in the European Union is undergoing a process of geopoliticisation, in which environmental, economic and strategic considerations are now closely intertwined. Its main contribution is the creation of a framework of sustainable strategic resilience that conceptualises these interactions as mutually reinforcing dimensions of contemporary EU governance.