The defence ministers of the EU Member States will meet in Warsaw on Thursday 3 April for an informal meeting. This is the first meeting in ‘Defence’ format to be chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas.
The ministers will first look at military support for Ukraine and the role the EU can play in guaranteeing a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.
In practical terms, they should go back on the High Representative’s proposal - now limited to funding two million rounds of large-calibre ammunition to the tune of €5 billion by 2025.
“When we know what the Member States are planning for this year, we will know what is missing and will see how to make up for it”, explained a senior official from the European External Action Service (EEAS) on Tuesday 1 April, stressing the importance of predictability. According to this senior official, €470 million would come from the profits generated by Russian assets tied up in the EU, via the ‘European Peace Facility’.
The aim is to reach an agreement among EU Member States at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday 14 April.
The ministers are also expected to discuss the EU’s contribution to security guarantees for Ukraine. According to the senior official, this support could take the form of the EU’s training mission, EUMAM, which has already trained more than 72,000 Ukrainian soldiers, the EU’s advisory mission to the Ukrainian internal security forces, EUAM, and support for the Ukrainian defence industry and its cooperation with the European defence industry.
According to the EEAS, the difference between the production capacity of Ukrainian industry and the demand for it is €12 billion.
The Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, and the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Radmila Shekerinska, have been invited to take part in this session.
For the first time, the ministers will then discuss the ‘White Paper’ on European defence, presented by the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union on 19 March (see EUROPE 13603/7). The Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Security and Defence, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, will take part in the discussions.
According to a senior EEAS official, the ministers will try to translate the proposals in the plan into more concrete projects. “The seven capacity areas (selected) are very broad: we need to understand the overall requirements in each area and how to translate them into projects”, the official added, pointing out that some projects already existed. For this official, the aim is to select between 10 and 30 projects.
The ministers could also come back to the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), which has not yet been agreed within the EU Council.
Forum on the ‘White Paper’. This Wednesday, ahead of the ministerial meeting, the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU is organising an EU Security Forum devoted to the ‘White Paper on the future of European Defence’ to prepare for the ministers’ discussion.
After an opening speech by the Polish Minister of National Defence, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and a presentation of the ‘White Paper’ by the European Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, the participants, including ministers, will discuss the development of defence capacities within the EU, and then the financing of this development. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)