On Tuesday 27 February, the Director General of the European Union's Military Staff (EUMS), Lieutenant-General Esa Pulkkinen, announced that new projects in the framework of the permanent structured corporation (PESCO) were scheduled for November 2018, requiring a call for projects in the spring.
“A call for new projects in April/May would be useful to give the PESCO Secretariat and the Military Committee time to provide advice to support the member states”, he told a hearing at the Security and Defence sub-committee of the European Parliament. The first list of projects is being prepared and will be presented to the Foreign Affairs Council in Defence format on 6 March (see EUROPE 11923). The first 17 projects selected for the PESCO have still to be officially adopted.
According to the Lieutenant General, there are lessons to learn from the first wave of projects to implement a more structured procedure, but also a calendar and standardised models for project tenders. On top of the projects not selected for the first wave there will be new ones, which will focus on capabilities and operational priorities, he added. Some 50 projects were proposed for the first selection.
“We are at the beginning of a sustainable process. We must try to operationalise the permanent structured corporation”, he explained. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)