EU Defense Ministers to Discuss New Military Support to Ukraine During Working Lunch
On May 12, a meeting of the EU Council will be held in Brussels, during which the EU defense ministers will hold a working lunch dedicated to military support for Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov will join the online discussion, and NATO representatives will also participate.
The EU Council meeting will open with a presentation of the threat analysis for the European Union, which was prepared as part of the work on the EU’s grand security strategy. After that, the ministers will hold a working lunch dedicated to the military support of Ukraine by the European Union.
During it, they will first of all talk about how exactly they will use part of the EU loan for Ukraine, amounting to 60 billion euros out of the total 90 billion. These funds should be directed to support the Ukrainian army, purchase weapons and ammunition. The ministers will also discuss the prospects for the participation of the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex in the implementation of the SAFE mechanism, which provides for loans to EU countries to strengthen their own defense industry for a total of 150 billion euros.
Before the lunch, an informal exchange of views with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov is planned in the format of a video conference.
In addition, the EU defense ministers will discuss assistance to Ukraine with NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska. In particular, the PURL initiative on the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine by NATO’s European allies, as well as the development of defense-industrial cooperation, will be discussed.
