The Diplomat
EU defence ministers agreed to begin studying the conditions under which the European training mission for Ukrainian forces will be carried out in the future, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, announced yesterday.
The EU-27 agreed to begin the “preparatory work” to set up the mission, for which the details will now have to be defined, Borrell explained at a press conference at the end of the informal meeting of defence ministers, recalling that precisely because of its informal nature, no firm decisions could be taken, reports Europa Press.
“It is clear that we have to be quick and ambitious”, the high representative stressed with regard to the timescale for reaching an agreement with the EU-27 that will allow this new military assistance mission to be launched, stressing that the process of defining “the legal and operational parameters” will be carried out in coordination with Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznizov, had the opportunity to explain to the ministers by videoconference the military training needs required in the short, medium and long term.
Although he acknowledged that some military training initiatives underway by member states “are being done well”, Borrell maintained that the future European mission will provide greater “coherence” and also a guarantee over time with respect to this training.
In this respect, the High Representative defended the fact that the EU joining forces could be especially useful for “high-level training, organising logistics, organising military health, or providing protection against nuclear or chemical weapons”.
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles offered to contribute specific training modules in Spain, where facilities and simulators are available, including the transport of Ukrainian military personnel.
Other countries also offered their territory. The Belgian Defence Minister, Ludivine Dedonder, said that her country could offer its experience in demining, alone or with other countries, while the Dutch Minister, Kajsa Ollongren, indicated that her country, together with Germany, has already presented an offer of training in demining, which other countries could join.
The idea, she explained, is for this training to be carried out on German soil, and the intention of both countries is to set it in motion before the launch of the possible EU mission, which could subsequently be joined. The Slovakian minister, Jaroslav Nad, also raised the possibility of hosting the European mission.
