The issue of France’s supply of Mistral helicopter carriers still hangs in the air. On the one hand, the French government postponed the decision on supply of these high-speed assault ships because of the conflict in Donbas. And on the other, the US and many Eastern European countries insist that France should not supply Mistrals to Russia. Besides, first a message about buying out these ships for NATO needs appeared, and then there was a suggestion by a group of members of the European Parliament to purchase Russian Mistrals for the European Union’s needs.
President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy gave a positive assessment of the MEPs’ proposal, but pointed out the complexity of its implementation. In particular, he said the following in response to the letter of 37 members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament: “I value your suggestions greatly, however, it will be hard to achieve their implementation due to some significant limitations, in particular, the clauses of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) which apply to the sphere of Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP).”
According to him, there are serious legal and financial obstacles in the way of European Union’s purchase of military equipment. According to the President of the European Council, the TEU does state that the CSDP includes progressive forming of joint defense policy of the EU, which will lead to common defense, when the European Union passes a corresponding decision as a result of unanimous action.
“However, the treaty also foresees that maintenance costs, which follow from the CSDP implementation, cannot be covered by the EU’s budget if they appear as a result of military or defense operations,” Rompuy said.
COMMENTARY
Tatiana KASTUEVA-JEAN, coordinator of Russie.NEI.Visions program, French Institute of International Relations, Paris:
“The idea of purchasing the Mistrals by NATO or the EU was suggested by some members of the European Parliament, politicians, and experts back in April and May of this year. The very fact of appearance of such an initiative is a strong symbolic gesture towards Russia. The first option (involving NATO) would be an extreme irritant for Russia, and the West is hardly ready for this. The second option (involving the EU) would certainly be the strongest move, which would show the unity of Western countries, their determination to ensure their security and security of their neighbors, and most importantly, it would fill European security and defense policy with real sense, since it has never been really implemented, despite all the plans and all the talking. But such an option has very low chances to be executed, at least in the near future: legal and financial obstacles are not empty words. Processes of demilitarization and cutting of military budgets are typical for the majority of European countries. It is pointless to expect that this long-term tendency can be reversed instantly. And a unanimous position from all EU member states in this matter should not be expected. Meanwhile, the time presses, France must make a decision on Mistrals in the near future. If some exceptional event, that would be similar to Boeing crash, does not take place on the eve of decision making, Mistrals will probably be given to Russia.
“At present it is impossible to foresee France’s final decision. While the situation in eastern Ukraine remains frozen to some extent by ceasefire agreements and the law on the special status of some eastern oblasts, and there are no drastic changes and crucial events, which could change the balance, both options remain open. Unfortunately, I must say that Ukraine must be prepared to see Mistrals given to Russia after all. Undoubtedly, this will have an extremely negative impact on the French-Ukrainian relations and the image of France in Ukraine.”
