On November 25th, TDC held an online event “SAFE and Beyond: Aligning EU Defense Efforts with Ukraine’s Needs”, aimed at facilitating dialogue on Ukraine’s and the EU’s defence.
Together, experts and decision-makers from the EU and the US, namely Jana Kobzova (ECFR), Arunas Vinciunas (European Commission), Maša Ocvirk (KAS US), TDC’s EU-Ukraine Partnership Program Coordinator Marianna Fakhurdinova, discussed the following topics:
- Further EU military support for Ukraine;
- Newly unveiled 28-point peace plan;
- Opportunities and shortcomings of the SAFE mechanism;
- The partial lifting of Ukraine’s restrictions on arms export;
- Potential areas of security cooperation between Ukraine and the EU.
Following the dynamic discussion, speakers presented their expert views on the points above. Among the other things, Senior Policy Advisor for security and defense at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung USA, Masa Ocvirk, pointed out: “The current geopolitical situation is anything but easy to navigate. The US scaled back military support, with Europe bearing a greater role. Yet, Ukraine`s future in the EU is clear.”
In the same vein, TDC’s EU-Ukraine Partnership Program Coordinator, Marianna Fakhurdinova, is convinced that “following the Danish model, partners could use SAFE loans to directly finance Ukrainian defence production. By reimbursing the MOD for the costs of already contracted systems, they would enable quicker and larger supply of weapons, as domestic Ukrainian production is generally cheaper than European alternatives.”
Co-director of the European Security Programme at ECFR, Jana Kobzova, supported her colleagues’ claims, pointing out that “Ukraine is Europe’s first line of defence. Reinforcing Ukraine on the battlefield, ensuring it can deter Russia, is not a charity – it is an investment in European security.”
Finally, Arunas Vinciunas, Head of Unit of Ukraine support and military mobility at DG DEFIS, European Commission, admitted the tangible success of the SAFE initiative, namely: “We have conducted numerous rounds of discussions with member states interested in SAFE, aiming to encourage them to provide more financing to Ukraine. There will be quite a significant amount of money dedicated from SAFE loans to Ukraine’s needs.”
Apart from this, during the event, EU-Ukraine Partnership Program Coordinator Marianna Fakhurdinova presented TDC’s research “Can SAFE make Ukraine safer? Insights into the new European financial instrument”.