On Monday 13 November, the ministers of 23 EU member states signed a joint notification on Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) on security and defence.
This is the start of common work between 23-member states pledging to engage on capacity and operational measures, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, adding that it was a historic moment and the opening of a new page for European defence. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Drian said it was a strong moment for a strengthening European defence.
The foreign and/or defence ministers of Germany Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden signed the notification letter that they handed to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Ireland and Portugal did not sign, but are expected to join the PESCO. Malta, the United Kingdom and Denmark, which has an exemption clause for defence, are not taking part.
This type of cooperation introduced by the Lisbon Treat in 2009 allows countries that so desire to boost cooperation in the security and defence domain. Through this PESCO, participating countries will be able to jointly develop defence capacity, invest in common projects and boost their operational preparedness and the contribution made by their armed forces, explains the Council in a press release.
The notification letter proposed by France, Germany, Spain and Italy says that PESCO is an ambitious, binding and inclusive European legal framework for investing in the security and defence of EU territory and its citizens. The letter lists 20 commitments in defence investment, developing capacity and operational contributions, along with proposals for governance, including the pledge to regularly increase budgets for defence in real terms in order to achieve agreed objectives.
There are strong commitment ambitions, said Mogherini, and they now need to be turned into concrete project. Following the notification, the Council will have to pass a qualified majority decision to establish PESCO, in other words 72% of Council members, representing 65% of the EU population. Mogherini hoped the decision would be passed at the next Foreign Affairs Council, scheduled for 11 December.
Once the permanent structured cooperation has been established, participating member states will decide which projects should be carried out. The projects could cover domains of capacity development and operational dimensions with the aim of optimising available resources and improving their overall effectiveness, explains the Council in a conclusions document on security and defence against the backdrop of the EU's global strategy, which was adopted on Monday 11 November. Some fifty projects have already been put forward by the participating states, said the High Representative. (For more information, see Europe Diplomacy & Defence). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)