There is no decision to send EU troops to Ukraine with any task, a spokesperson for the European Commission said today at a press conference in response to questions related to information in European media about the possible dispatch of European peacekeepers. He noted that the EU is carrying out a peace mission to train Ukrainian soldiers on European territory, whose mandate was recently extended.
In his words, the EU supports any effort that would lead to a just peace and that takes into account that Ukraine was the attacked country. However, the spokesman added that such an agreement should be in accordance with international law.
When asked to comment on the words of the newly elected US Vice President JD Vance, in which a connection was made between freedom of speech and European rules in this area, the work of online platforms and the activities of NATO, the spokesman pointed out that the EU is home to free speech, as shown by international studies. Free speech is at the heart of European legislation on internet platforms, he explained. Nothing obligates platforms to remove legal content. What content is legal is determined by European, international and local law, the spokesperson added.
He explained that EU rules require that when content is removed, users can challenge the decision. Platforms are expected to monitor the spread of content that is harmful without necessarily being illegal, such as disinformation, he said.
In a televised interview, Vance said that if NATO wants US support for the alliance to continue, US rules and freedom of speech must be respected. The alliance should protect freedom of expression, countries in Europe should share American values, he added on the occasion of the open scandal earlier this year between the owner of the social network "X" Elon Musk and the then European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. The European Commissioner warned Musk that against "X" severe restrictions may be imposed in the EU if the lack of sufficient oversight of content distributed online persists.