JATEC is a joint center where Ukraine and NATO will have equal powers — expert

Last week, the NATO Summit was held in Washington, DC. It adopted a Declaration on the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center (JATEC). The first announcements about the establishment of the institution were made at the beginning of the year. JATEC should become a unique institution within which Ukraine and the Alliance will cooperate on an equal footing in the military sphere.

Hanna Shelest, Director of Security Programs at the Foreign Policy Council «Ukrainian Prism,» spoke about this on Hromadske Radio.

«In April, we had an expert-level conversation with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine about what JATEC should look like. Then the center began to take on clearer outlines, and our wishes were formed. In May, there were already meetings in Poland with the participation of Ukraine and NATO member states to discuss the details, and in July we received a formal initiation.»

Nevertheless, according to Shelest, there are no complete outlines of how JATEC should be built and function. The center’s goals and objectives have been formulated, and it is known where it will be located. Now, within a month, the tasks and functionality of the center will be specified.

«For the first time, this is not a one-sided alliance structure that helps Ukraine and is not a form of partnership. A big victory is that this is a joint center where Ukraine and NATO will have equal powers. It will be a separate structure, so it will be able to be quite independent and flexible. There is a decision that it will most likely be under the NATO-Ukraine Council, which is also a separate structure. JATEC will be a real bridge for further work towards our NATO membership», — says the director of security programs.

It is important that the final rules and regulations of the center’s functioning provide equal opportunities and involvement in various processes for Ukraine and NATO.

«For example, I wonder how the lessons learned will work. It may be that Ukraine simply provides information from the battlefield, and NATO experts analyze it. This would be a disadvantage for us, as we would only act as guinea pigs. For the Ukrainian side, it is important that we sit down together to study these lessons and formulate new recommendations for both Ukraine and the Alliance that would help us improve.»

According to Shelest, the center will be set up in Poland. Currently, training and assistance for Ukraine is being provided there. JATEC should not be a political structure but a platform for the military. From the Ukrainian side, it should include representatives of the Ministry of Defense and military personnel.

«The center will analyze lessons learned, jointly plan, and coordinate training. Now there is still a question about the leadership because the Ukrainian side wants it to be as joint as possible between Ukraine and NATO. This is quite difficult to coordinate. NATO proposes that JATEC should be headed by their representative. But we are still waiting for other details on this», — Shelest says.

As for the results of the NATO summit in general, she assesses them as expected. According to the director, some experts expected more decisive steps and cite the upcoming US presidential election and the position of the White House administration as the reason for their absence. Nevertheless, Shelest argues that certain details in the summit declaration are important steps, such as the wording about Ukraine’s «irreversible path» to NATO membership:

«Over the past two months, there has been a great struggle to keep it. For example, there were some influential representatives in the US presidential administration who believed that Ukraine’s membership in the alliance could be a ‘card’ in negotiations with Russia to end the war. We understand that this one word has a serious strategic impact and sends a signal to Russia.»

Shelest also says that the declaration contains articles that do not directly concern Ukraine but will affect our security situation. They refer to joint weapons production, strengthening the military-industrial complex, enhancing cybersecurity, and the role of China.