The defense ministers of the 27 have wanted to exhibit the Union’s superiority in space with a meeting at the Satellite Center. It is a reserved place within the Torrejón Air Base from where all the satellites that the European Union has deployed in space are controlled. “The eyes of Europe”, as defined by the High Representative of the Union, Josep Borrell, who chaired this meeting.
Currently, 85% of the satellites deployed in space are European. This supposes an autonomy of the EU, as well as an advantage at the level of aerial intelligence with respect to other countries. As Borrell has reported, every year the activity of this satellite center increases, and this 2023 they believe that they will issue 5,000 reports, many of them with images obtained in just 24 hours. “We need to know what happens, especially when there is a war,” Borrell acknowledged.
Because the Russian invasion of Ukraine has conditioned the entire foreign policy of the European Union and the entire world, divided into two blocs. That is why continuing to support Zelensky will be the focus of the informal inter-ministerial meetings that the Defense and Foreign Ministers will have on August 30 and 31 in Toledo.
Already this Tuesday in Torrejón the subject on which part of the conversations have focused has been Ukraine. “The entire EU is supporting Ukraine and we will continue to do so, because by supporting Ukraine we are supporting the values of peace, freedom and democracy”, said the Spanish Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, after the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Satcen, where 18 ministers of the 27 of the Union have been present.
This European center based in Spain serves to provide information to the entire European Union, as well as to the countries that request help from the corporation. “Thanks to this we have a precise vision of what is happening in Ukraine, we can keep our knowledge of what is happening in the South, the Mediterranean and Africa up to date, especially in the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea or the Indian Ocean, and respond quickly and effectively to critical situations, such as the need to evacuate European citizens from conflict zones, as has recently happened in Sudan and Niger”, the minister described.
The center has become an indispensable aid in providing information to Ukraine so that it can plan its movements on the ground. In fact, in 2022 – the year in which SATCEN celebrated its 30th anniversary – its work increased by 70% coinciding with Putin’s aggression. This year its work continues to increase, with its eyes focused on Ukraine, but also with a look at the Sahel.
After finishing the meeting of the Satcen board of directors, the representatives of the European Union countries traveled by bus to the Parador de Toledo, where the activities for the inter-ministerial meeting continued. Throughout Wednesday the 30th there will be two work sessions, the first one on Ukraine, which shows the European Union’s commitment to Zelensky.
It is no coincidence that on Monday Minister Robles was awarded the distinction of honor from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. During that act, the minister announced that her counterpart, Oleksi Reznikov, will participate by videoconference in the work session this Wednesday. Thus, they give a preferential place, like one more, to Ukraine within the meeting of the 27 in Toledo.
There will be a second working session focused on the situation in Niger. In it, the countries will analyze the need to maintain the mission in Mali, where Spain is the majority force, and which ends in May 2024.
On Thursday, the foreign affairs ministers, hosted by José Manuel Albares and once again led by Josep Borrell, will participate in an inter-ministerial meeting in their area. In it, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, who announced a tour of Europe that began on Monday in Prague, continued in Paris and will end in Toledo, will be in person. Kuleba’s intention is to close new military cooperation with the countries that are collaborating with Ukraine, so that Toledo can leave with some European agreement and new packages regarding the war, despite the fact that they are informal meetings in which they do not usually materialize agreements.
The European Union has strongly condemned the war in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. In fact, Europe launched a mission to train Ukrainian troops. Thus, newly recruited soldiers are instructed in basic training in target practice, strategies and first aid, as well as specific training in handling weapons donated by the countries.
As Reznikov revealed, Spain was the key for Germany to authorize the shipment of the Leopard tanks, which are already operating on the ground and which represented a turning point in the support of Europe. Now Zelensky aspires for a massive fighter shipment to materialize, although for the moment not all countries have given in to that request.
This Tuesday, at the European Union Satellite Center, Minister Robles once again showed support for Ukraine and wanted to condemn the attacks and threats Borrell received from Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian presenter known as ‘the voice of Putin’ because of his closeness to the president. “I would like to remember here the idiot Borrell, the enemy of the Russian people,” she said, among other statements in which she even stated that she wanted him to put “the spawn of Satan” on his grave.