On Tuesday 12 May the Defence Ministers of the Member States of the European Union will discuss, by videoconference, the implications of Covid-19 for defence and security activities and the post-crisis period.
They should therefore discuss the working group set up to facilitate the exchange of information on national military assistance to civilian authorities in response to the pandemic, which is now operational (see EUROPE 12467/9).
Ministers will also discuss the impact of coronavirus on the 17 EU missions. Several cases of coronavirus were discovered among the staff of some of them and most of them had to reduce their activities (see EUROPE 12469/21). "It is important to prepare at EU level the conditions for our missions to return to the field", a senior EU official said on Monday.
Ministers should also discuss lessons learned from the Covid-19 crisis. They will do this on the basis of a document from the European External Action Service (EEAS), which highlights five priorities. These include solidarity, between military and civilian authorities and between Member States and responsiveness, with the consequences of the crisis on EU missions and the support of these missions to local authorities.
Resilience is another priority, in order to "be better prepared, more resilient in the event of a future pandemic, a disruptive crisis", the senior official said. It is also about making progress in the fight against disinformation, malicious activity and hybrid threats. According to the senior official, the preparation must include exercises and concrete scenarios.
For the same senior official, the lessons of the crisis also need to be drawn in terms of capacities. "This has concrete consequences for all our capability initiatives", he added, noting that this could include permanent structured cooperation projects, some of which have links to medical issues. "We will see if we need to adapt some of our projects or forge others to better prepare for the future", he said.
Finally, the last priority highlighted in the EEAS document concerns partnerships. The Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will participate in the meeting.
According to the senior official, this discussion will be the beginning of a process that will guide the work of the institutions and Member States in the coming months.
Difficult first days for Irini
Finally, the ministers could come back to Operation Irini. While this has been operational since 4 May, Malta has already announced that it will not send the previously announced boarding team (see EUROPE 12482/23). Valletta could also veto decisions on the joint financing of the operation.
Malta would expect its partners to respond to the migration crisis. The country "is facing an unprecedented crisis and disproportionate flows due to human trafficking and criminal activities in the central Mediterranean", a source told EUROPE. In the first quarter of 2020, the island saw a 438% increase in arrivals and there have only been eight relocation commitments per 100 people in recent years. "There is no tangible support or solidarity from EU partners despite numerous requests for relocation and discussions on a permanent solution", the source added.
The country would also be concerned about the opposition to Irini by the Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Fayez el-Sarraj, who believes that this operation favours his opponent, Marshal Khalifa Haftar (see EUROPE 12483/29).
"We will see how we can resolve the issues raised by Malta", the senior official said. According to him, the High Representative of the Union, Josep Borrell, should recall the need to confirm the means already announced for this operation.
In addition, the military committee will meet, again by videoconference, on Wednesday 13 May, to discuss the impact of the coronavirus. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)