Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Chair of the Security and Defence subcommittee delegation and Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL) hold a press point by the delegation Chair of SEDE Subcommittee is held in Warsaw, after a fact-finding visit to assess the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine. The EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine), launched in November 2022 for a period of two years, is designed to strengthen the military capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces so that they can defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, and protect the civilian population. The mission has a non-executive mandate to provide individual, collective and specialised training for the Ukrainian armed forces in the territory of EU member states.

EU - Ukraine (T)

Subcommittee on Security and Defence

EP delegation

press conference

FOTYGA, Anna (ECR, PL)

Poland

Warsaw

MANDL, Lukas (EPP, AT)

solidarity with Ukraine (T)

consequences of the war in Ukraine (T)

Press conference by Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Chair of the Security and Defence subcommittee delegation, and Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), on the fact-finding visit to assess EUMAM Ukraine - EU military support to Ukraine

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Thanks to all of you for your interest and for the opportunity to share some thoughts after our Security and Defense Committee mission to Germany and Poland in order to support the EU training mission for the Ukrainian armed forces in this very war.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Our delegation consisted of five members of the European Parliament, members of the Security and Defense Committee from five different Member states. Austria, this is my home country, as well as Hungary, France, Poland, and consisting also of four different political groups. So it was a multi partizan group. The countries also were represented with Lithuania. So five countries, four political groups, mighty Partizan, and with a clearly unanimous approach to support this EU training mission and to support the whole EU support for Ukraine in this endeavor.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Ladies and gentlemen, I want to share with you the clear view that it might be the case that each generation has its endeavor in defending freedom and in defending our civilization based on values such as human dignity and individual freedom. This very war, which was unprovoked, which is unprecedented, which is against international law, which comes along with cruelty and war crimes, is nothing we would have chosen. But this very war is obviously this endeavor of our generation in defending freedom, civilization and values. And this is why we are in this together.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), And we have to strengthen our mutual confidence in each and every respect regarding the institutions of the European Union. Regarding the Member States, regarding our partner Ukraine, and also regarding like minded third countries. This is why I call the one and a half years before: the one of the half years of many good beginnings.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), There were many good beginnings in terms of defense budgets of member states. It was a strong beginning that the European Peace Facility has been used for the first time and it is strong as it is used today and for its very purpose. What we have to work for is that we will have a sustainable approach after this many good beginnings in order to defend freedom and civilization.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Ladies and gentlemen, we have personally met the men and women who carry out the military defense of Ukraine as parts of the Ukrainian armed forces included, and trained by the EU military training mission. The recent goal is to educate and to train up to 30,000 of Ukrainian soldiers via this EU military training mission. And I can share with you a clear view that these men and women are highly motivated in defending their homeland. In defending their country in defending their families. And via this endeavor, they defend Europe in its entirety and the before mentioned values of freedom of civilization.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Among these men and women are lawyers, teachers, workers, people of different generations, and with different professional backgrounds in the civil society of Ukraine. Now, all together in this military endeavor, which we support as European Union. We have to uphold this strength, this support in terms of training and in terms of equipment. This is connected and this is also new in EU military training missions that we connect training and equipment with each other.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), This is the one part, the important part, the military part of defense against the military attack and the other part of the defense of the European Union, as you all know, is the bloodless defense against this bloody war attack, meaning the sanctions. And during our mission, we had the privilege to meet with high ranking officials of the executive branch and the legislative branches of Germany and Poland, as well as with high ranking military officials. And we have elaborated also on this issue. And the clear view is that the sanctions meet their target. The sanctions work and the sanctions will remain an important part of defending Europe, our civilization, our freedom of values.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), And there is one additional thing our parliamentary endeavor intends to achieve, and this is the defense against what we call, and what experts, call hybrid warfare. The attack against our societies also are within EU via means and measures of hybrid warfare, via cyber attacks, via causing division in online channels, in public debates. Disinformation is the nice, sometime euphemistic expression. It's actually just lies. It's just lies spread within our societies in E.U. as part of hybrid warfare.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), You know, the European Parliament also has conducted a special committee in elaborating on this and in avoiding this division within our societies, because the biggest strength of Europe is its unity. And so if a power from outside, like Putin's Russia is doing, wants to harm Europe, it means to cause division against this unity. We must not let that happen. And this is why the defense against this hybrid warfare is so important.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), And last but not least. Part of, especially our parliamentary endeavor. What's unique for the parliamentary dimension of European politics, and maybe politics in each and every level, is that we connect the decision taking processes with the people in our countries, in our constituencies, with the citizens within our societies. Because this will always be important, an important strength of Europe to the outside, that the attention will remain uphold within our societies for this unprecedented aggression, militarily against Ukraine, but in many means and measures against all of us. Against the whole European society, against actually the whole world.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), And this upholding public attention also requires transparency. This is why it was so important that after our delegation, we immediately also share with you our views, our insights during this press conference today. Let me also share with you that, especially since we are located here in Poland, we have seen the Polish armed forces, the German armed forces on their soil supporting the EU military training mission, but many other nations as well, EU member states, as well as Norway and Canada, joining this mission supporting. We highly commend these activities and these efforts from these armed forces.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), And also, since we are located here in Poland, especially today, we have talked a lot about with our interlocutors about Belarus, because it is close and it plays a crucial role, especially the Freedom Movement of Belarus is something special, something we should support. And I can share with you the information that the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee last week has decided positively on an amendment to recommend to include the Freedom Movement for Belarus in the so-called European political community, the gathering of all European States, where yet only high levels is missing for obvious reasons. It's an authoritarian regime with high level of brutality. But there is the freedom movement which can be seen as proper for an observer status within the European political community. And this is also what the Foreign Affairs Committee of European Parliament has decided on with  large majority.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), Last, also part of our discussions within during these three days, was the ten points peace plan of President Zelensky. So this is also something we should keep the attention up for because it's an important part of the public debate, which is maybe not yet covered enough. But it's something that comes from the president of the militarily attacked country who is defending with his armed forces, his society, his country. And since there is a proposal on the table from president Zelensky we are supposed to elaborate on it and to discuss it.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), We are using the European Peace Facility, what it's meant for this is a very important message of these very days. It's taxpayers money, money which is used properly in order to uphold freedom, in order to achieve peace, in order to defend our values, our civilization. This is what the European peace for this facility is meant for.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), I also want to urgently ask that we will not make geography an issue of any kind of separation within Europe because some are close, like in the Baltic states, like in Poland, some might be geographically not that close, but all of us have been attacked by a means of hybrid warfare. And it doesn't matter if you are geographically close or not. We are one Europe, we are one civilization, we are one free society and we want to defend it. And we have to, no matter where we might be located.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), The whole goal of this endeavor is to reestablish freedom and peace. And what we have is to take of it from the men and women who carry out the military defense of Ukraine, which we have met personally, which was a great honor to meet them personally. It's an honor to contribute to their training as European Union. Our take away from them is that it is worth it to undertake this endeavor, because it's the existential question of our generation. We are facing this existential threat and we must uphold freedom, values and civilization for the generations to come. Thank you for your interest. I'm more than happy that Anna Fotyga is also with us, part of our delegation all the days, member of European Parliament from Poland, very active member in the Security and Defense Committee. Anna Fotyga, if i may, I hand over the floor directly to you.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), Thank you very much indeed. Good afternoon. I would like to start my contribution by paying tribute to all the brave men and women of Ukraine, defending with such resolve their country against Russian war of aggression, waged by by this country, in particular full scale invasion after February 24th of 2022. Let me mention that over half a year ago, early December, the delegation of Subcommittee on Security and Defense of European Parliament met commanders of the EU Advisory Mission and Training Mission to Ukrainian air forces. Just after one month of creation, decision was taken in November previous year, it happened just after our departure from Ukraine, from Kiev. Some of us, including myself and Petras Austrevicius of Lithuania, were part of this.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), The mission was created in a record short time. And now, after more than half a year, we were really satisfied by the outcome the mission achieved over this period of time, both in Germany and Poland, we were able to see exercises in progress. Also international contribution being a poll. I'm very happy that government decided to dedicate extremely sophisticated, well advanced exercise to train Ukrainians.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), There is international contribution in both places in Germany and in Poland. We were able to monitor and combat to train in trenches and supervise by very experienced French instructors. Of course it was excellent Polish command all the time. In Germany we saw also international contribution. This mission is extremely flexible tending to the requirements and needs of the Ukrainian armed forces, their assessment of necessities taking into account variety of stages of their defending of the country. Recently, since June, in maintaining the counter offensive.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), We were able to see variety of modes of training including very difficult city combat. And perform in semi natural conditions, especially preparing for this purpose. We are extremely grateful to all servicemen, commanders of variety of EU member states for our contribution to this. I would like to tell that, from the point of view of finances, even reimbursement of ammunition used for this kind of training is of utmost importance.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), Anna FOTYGA (ECR, PL), So I would like to convey necessity to strengthen the performance of European Peace facility. Appealing to my colleagues to look into this and enable Ukrainians train with even higher intensity under supervision and advice of European commanders, very experienced commanders. As subcommittee we are able to listen every several weeks to to two briefing by the mission commander. And these briefings are of utmost importance. Yet, seeing training exercises and performance of Ukrainian soldiers with our own eyes is something different. And we are extremely grateful for this opportunity. It was a busy time, rather exhaustive, yet we are happy to talk to to have the possibility to complete this mission. Thank you.

Q&A, Focusing on the logistics and timeline of the support to the Ukranian forces deployed by the European Union