The Foreign Affairs Council decided on Monday 14 November to launch a military assistance mission for the Ukrainian army (EUMAM).
“I hope that it will be up and running by the end of the month” said High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell after the EU Council.
The initial goal is to train 15,000 men. The mission will have two headquarters in Germany and Poland, although other EU Member States could host training.
On Tuesday, the EU Council is also expected to adopt support worth €16 million under the framework of the European Peace Facility in order to finance equipment linked to the EUMAM mission.
The High Representative has promised that the EU will continue providing military support to Ukraine. “The EU will stand by the side of Ukraine until Ukraine wins. This has to be understood within Ukrainian parameters”, Borrell added, referring to support in a broad sense.
Despite this, Estonian Minister Urmas Reinsalu has called on the Europeans to do more, comparing the support provided by the USA and Europe. “There are many things we could do”, he said.
According to the High Representative, at least €8 billion in military equipment has already been provided to Ukraine by the EU and Member States. “This is about 45% of the effort that has been made by the USA; this is not negligible”, he retorted.
Continuing to work on sanctions
Borrell has promised that the EU will continue to adopt sanctions against Russia. “We will continue to isolate Russia internationally by imposing restrictive measures against its economy. We are ready to strengthen these measures and to target the involvement of third countries, especially those providing arms and military support”, Borrell warned, citing Belarus and Iran.
According to an EU source, there is a willingness to adopt additional sanctions.
“With regard to sanctions, we all, with one exception, agree on the effectiveness and necessity of sanctions“, said Slovak Minister Rastislav Káčer.
Upon their arrival at the EU Council, the Estonian and Lithuanian ministers expressed their impatience. “We are still waiting for the ninth set of sanctions. Some people say that there is perhaps nothing left to sanction, that everything that Europe is able to sanction is already on the list. I would like to refute this”, denounced Lithuanian Gabrielius Landsbergis. His country, together with Poland, Estonia and Latvia, drew up a set of proposals for new restrictive measures a few weeks ago.
Sanctions against Iranians
Pending new sanctions against Russia, the EU Council has taken action against two Iranian officials and two Iranian entities in connection with Russia’s use of Iranian drones in Ukraine (see other news).
They are Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's aerospace force.
These Iranian leaders “are overseeing the development of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme, as well as the transfer of UAVs to foreign countries” stated the decision of the EU Council. They have already been sanctioned by the EU in connection with the human rights situation in Iran.
The Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC ASF), who have been deemed “responsible for the development of Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme, including the Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6, which are being used by the Russian Federation in the war of aggression against Ukraine”, and Qods Aviation Industries, an Iranian company that designs and manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are also subject to restrictive measures.
Financial support
Several ministers have supported the provision of financial assistance to Ukraine as the European Commission proposed an €18 billion package for 2023 (see EUROPE 13060A4, EUROPE 13062/3).
Their Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjártó, however, reiterated that while his country “did not block EU aid to Ukraine”, it opposed joint European loans.
Mr Borrell clarified that Hungary was not opposed to providing Ukraine with macro-financial assistance, but the question was over how to implement it.
According to an EU official, at the EU Council “the Hungarians said they would pay their share like the others”.
Special Tribunal
A further topic of discussion surrounded the setting up of a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression in Ukraine, according to Estonian Minister Urmas Reinsalu. “Several ministries, including Estonia, have called on the European Commission to quickly draw up an analysis regarding the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression”, he said after the meeting.
His Lithuanian counterpart also made reference to a special tribunal on his arrival. According to Josep Borrell, a clear legal basis for this tool still needs to be determined. “We are looking at options at the European Commission to ensure accountability. Discussions will continue on this issue”.
To date, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, has not ruled out this possibility but has advocated that the use of existing tools is prioritised (see EUROPE 13042/2). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)