Like their foreign affairs counterparts on Monday (see other news), the EU Ministers of Defence will discuss the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday 17 May. They will also discuss Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations.
Ukraine. The ministers will hold talks by video conference with their Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, and with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. The discussion will allow for an assessment of the situation on the ground and Kyiv’s equipment needs, and take stock of the EU’s support. “The EU will adapt its support to a likely long conflict”, said a senior EU official on Friday 13 May.
The EU Council could discuss the new proposal by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, to provide a further €500 million through the European Peace Facility. “The €500 million will be allocated to heavy weapons”, he explained on his arrival at the G7 in Germany, recalling that Member States were already providing armoured vehicles, tanks, heavy artillery and ammunition, “the things needed for this kind of war”.
A senior European official said that while the three previous packages were composed of €450 million for lethal and €50 million for non-lethal, this one will be composed of €490 million for lethal material and €10 million for non-lethal. If this new support is approved - which could happen in the next few days depending on national procedures - €2 billion from the Facility will have been spent on Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
CSDP. The ministers will then discuss the implementation of the ‘Strategic Compass’, in particular the operational aspect with the effectiveness of CSDP operations and missions and the future rapid deployment capability.
The EU currently has 18 missions: Seven military and 11 civilian. According to a senior EU official, there is a need to adapt the current model of military missions. “This means looking at how to re-energise the model and be much more relevant on the ground” said one diplomat, arguing that it needed to be more flexible, simpler and more responsive.
Several sources explained that missions should be more flexible in order to better respond to partners’ needs. “There is a range of options that can be offered to partners in order to make them more tailor-made”, said the senior official.
For example, according to this official, partners “do not only ask for training, but also for equipment”. The European Peace Facility can finance such equipment. Europeans could also support countries in terms of training before a conflict takes hold, for example in the Gulf of Guinea countries.
In addition, they could, beyond training, accompany the units they have trained to the battlefield. This executive task could be carried out by voluntary Member States. Article 44 TEU on such avant-garde groups would allow for this.
Mali. The High Representative of the Union is also expected to touch quickly upon the deteriorating situation in Mali, where the EU has suspended operational training by its EUTM Mali and EUCAP Sahel Mali missions (see EUROPE 12930/8). The Union has also decided not to implement a €24 million assistance measure approved by the EU Council last 2 December aimed at strengthening the capacities of the Malian armed forces (see EUROPE 12845/20).
According to a senior EU official, Mr Borrell and the ministers are expected to discuss downsizing these missions due to the reduction in their activities. EUTM Mali currently has 900 troops. The Military Planning and Conduct Capability is expected to present a downsizing plan at the Force Generation Conference on 19 May.
A strategic review of both missions is expected by the end of the month.
European Defence Agency. A meeting of the Steering Board at ministerial level of the European Defence Agency will be held in the margins of the EU Council.
It will be the occasion to approve the establishment of the Hub for European Defence Innovation (HEDI). According to the EU Council, three steps have been defined for the Hub to progressively develop and fulfil its role as a catalyst and amplifier of EU defence innovation: “from promoting innovation at European level and coordinating innovation between Member States and EU institutions to becoming an EU-wide innovation platform for collaborative design and experimentation”.
Ministers will also discuss the Agency’s defence gap analysis, which will contribute to the defence investment gap analysis to be presented by the European Commission on 18 May. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)