By KYIV. Nov 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the format of defense ministers on Tuesday in Brussels will consist of three main sections: current affairs, the defense capabilities of the European Union and a working lunch with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a European official told reporters.
Among the aspects of the current affairs section, a high-ranking source singled out the launch of the EU mission to train the Ukrainian military and the discussion by the ministers of the readiness of the EU’s rapid deployment forces.
Introducing media representatives on condition of anonymity with the council’s agenda, the EU functionary explained that the official decision on the mission for the armed forces of Ukraine – EUMAM Ukraine – is made by the heads of the EU foreign ministries, however, the discussion of the substance of the issue will take place mainly between defense ministers at a meeting on Tuesday.
For the first time such a mission will be fully organized on the territory of the European Union, the official said.
The official said this does not contradict the legislation of the union, because the trained soldiers will return to Ukraine. The source recalled that the main task of the mission is to train about 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. At the same time, he stressed that they will not only be trained, but will also be equipped with ammunition, which provides for EUR 16 million. The initial mandate of the mission is two years. The amount of total expenditure planned for this period will amount to EUR 106.7 million.
The EU functionary also said that the EU is working on possible operational scenarios for the creation of a common rapid deployment force.
An important component of the meeting of EU defense ministers should be the defense capabilities of the European Union. EU military assistance to Ukraine has affected the defense stocks of the countries of the community, and this situation needs to be corrected, the source of the media representatives said.
The European official said the EU has delivered a lot of military equipment to Ukraine, which means that its own stocks have decreased today.
The meeting of the heads of the defense departments of the EU countries will end with a working lunch with the participation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. At the start of the event, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov will have a video link with EU defense ministers. After his message, an exchange of views will take place on the situation in Ukraine and the types and scale of further military assistance to Kyiv, the European diplomatic source said.
