Where can Spain and the EU train Ukrainian soldiers? Deal Restrictions

Last week, on the day of Ukraine’s 31st anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, Spain announced that it was offering to train Ukrainian soldiers; thus he wanted to contribute to the war effort against the Russian invader. This Tuesday, the European Union announced the principle of an agreement between defense ministers to prepare a mission to match this union training. But,How and where such training can be carried out on a large scale? It is difficult to think of the idea of ​​sending the Spanish army or any other European country to the territory of Ukraine. It takes a strategic plan to protect them and fully enter the battle scene. The most logical would be to bring the Ukrainians to European territory.

However, the Treaty on European Union clearly states that military missions must be outside the territory of the community. “Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) […] It will offer the Union an operational capacity based on civil and military vehicles. The Union may resort to such means. in missions outside the Union Article 42 of the Treaty reads in the provision on common foreign relations, whose purpose is to guarantee the maintenance of peace, the prevention of conflict and the strengthening of international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and security policy.

The European Commission assures that, despite this clause, there are ways to achieve its educational mission. In writing to EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, the Commission wrote, “In principle, it is possible to carry out a European Union education mission within the European Union, there are precedents.” “The Mission will be based on existing provisions under the Treaty. and in some instances Actions taken by the CSDP, which have impact and objectives in the beneficiary countries”.

The Commission does not specify which previous cases were involved. The European Union has military missions abroad, including military training. For example, European Union education mission in Mali, EUTM-Malifeeding the army of the country struggling with jihadist terrorism.

In others, just as Operation Sofia, Libyan coast guards, where the European Union is fighting against smuggling and human smuggling networks in the Mediterranean, received training in Italy.

The difference is that No official military mission for Ukraine of the European Union.

parliamentary approval

If another side of Spain’s intention to train Ukrainian soldiers is a mission like in Mali or Lebanon, It needs to be approved in parliament. It can be foreseen that the government will receive the necessary support from the other side of the parliamentary belt, but it will also wear out within the coalition.

United We Can is reluctant to send arms and join the Ukrainian war effort. Minister of Social Rights and Secretary General of Podemos, Ione Belarra, questioned whether the training mission proposed by Defense this Wednesday makes sense and is prepared to create the EU. “What’s the point of continuing to fuel military tensions and not actively working for a diplomatic and peaceful solution,” he said.

Embryonic state of the task

The configuration of this final mission has not yet been defined. EU defense ministers have agreed to start examining the parameters and conditions under which the European training mission for Ukrainian forces will only be carried out in the future.

“Question [de dónde serán entrenados] It’s early at this point, because there is only one principle of agreement to start working on this mission concept, and there are no agreed-upon details yet,” the European Commission emphasizes in this paper.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles offered special training modules available in Spain. It provides the Ukrainian army with facilities, simulators and personnel transport to the Spanish territory.

Belgium. The Netherlands and Germany want to train Ukrainians in demining their territory. Specifically, The Hague and Berlin ensure that they will launch these training missions without waiting for the launch of the EU mission, which they can then be involved in.

“We have to be fast”

Josep Borrell, head of European foreign policy, hastily said: “It is clear that we must be swift and ambitious.” He stressed precisely that the Twenty-Seven agreement, which allowed the launch of this new military aid mission, should detail the “legal parameters” that would define the mission.

Brussels has already acted quickly and flexibly when it needed to find a mechanism to send weapons to Ukraine. Used the newly created European Peace Support Fund to send 2,500 million euros in weapons to the attacked country.

Education will be “high level” According to Borrell, it will help Ukrainians organize military logistics, which is key to the success of offensive and defensive operations in the east of the country, as well as serve to protect themselves against chemical or nuclear weapons or organize military medical and field hospitals. at a press conference.

Britain has a strong training program for Ukrainian soldiers. 2,300 combat-ready troops have been dispatched since June, and since Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, London has trained a further 22,000 for Operation Orbital. The United States also conducts training missions, for example, in Germany, but does not provide data on the number of soldiers. Almost all countries, such as France, Germany or Denmark, also assign certain classes to Ukrainian soldiers who send weapons in their use.

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