The rapid succession of major security crises in theatres geographically or strategically close to Europe has drawn public attention to the EU's crisis response capacities. The bar for what should constitute a "geopolitical" European foreign policy has been raised by several conflicts and crises, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, recent escalations in the Middle East involving Israel, Gaza, the Red Sea, and Iran, increasing instability in the Sahel, and tensions in the South China Sea.