Words must be turned into deeds, said EU High Representative Josep Borrell, speaking in Brussels on the Strategic Compass in a limited number of media, including APE-MPE. This is a plan which, if not implemented, does not make sense, he added, adding that “the real story begins now”. The High Representative clarified that the Rapid Growth Capacity and its 5,000 staff are not equivalent to the creation of a Euromilitary.
“It’s important to understand how it works because it is not a Euro-army, it is a mixture of different capabilities, different European armies ready to act together depending on what they are called for. “It is completely different to secure an airport, to act as a mediation force or to protect civilians,” he said.
Asked by about whether the Rapid Growth Capacity can work in addition to the Hybrid Rapid Response Teams Mr Borel replied that “different types of threats need to be addressed by different means. We do not fight cyber threats by deploying 5,000 people in the field. In cyber threats you sit at a table and work on a computer. As for the hybrid threats, it depends on the elements of the hybrid threats. Imagine a hybrid threat, which requires the development of people in the field. For example, if you want to deal with a crisis like the one we had between Poland and Belarus, maybe you can use people who are growing in the field. “Other hybrid threats do not need that.”
“I will not stop emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity. It does not have any component that the troops seem to be bombing, but we need to emphasize our cyber security a lot. “Compass attaches great importance to this,” he stressed.
Explaining how the Rapid Growth Capacity will work, the EU High Representative said: “We must be ready to act. This is the Capacity for Rapid Growth. To be ready to face any mission and according to the mission to build strength by calling on the Member States to provide the information we need for that mission. “From now on, what the Member States have to do is suggest to us what opportunities they are ready to participate in.”
He added that “the first thing that needs to be done is for the member states to commit if there is a need, that they can assist with the ‘X’ and then we have a whole list and it depends on the threat to mobilize a team that will fit the mission.” This means that these people should be trained together and from the moment they are made available to us they should follow the exercises so that they are ready if the situation arises “.
Josep Borel also explained that “they should not be ready to intervene 24 hours a day, but should be at the disposal of the Force Commander who will have the organization”. Regarding the role of the North Atlantic Alliance, he said that “no one is discussing the role of NATO. NATO is the answer to Europe’s territorial defense. What we are trying to do is create a complementarity with NATO. “What is happening today in Ukraine is an example of this complementarity in practice.”
Finally, Josep Borrell noted that “under the current circumstances it would be short-sighted and it would show that we are a bit unrealistic to talk about security and defense and not emphasize that there is a country called Russia that has started a war – and no is the first. “There is a long series of attacks in our neighborhood.”
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