Meeting in Sofia on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 May, defence ministers will hold an informal meeting devoted to military mobility, implementation of permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) and the prospects of developing crisis management operations.
After a traditional dinner on Friday, ministers will gather for the working session on Saturday. The meeting will begin with the European Defence Agency (EDA) steering board in order to discuss the EDA’s future activities, among other things.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will then present an action plan on military mobility, presented by the Commission at the end of March (see EUROPE 11991). In addition to the action plan, military mobility is the subject of a proposal for permanent structured cooperation in which all countries except Ireland participate, and is one of the cooperation actions between the EU and NATO. Also, the European Commission is proposing to make €6.5 billion available from the 2021-2027 budget in order to adapt strategic infrastructures to military mobility.
Ministers will also discuss implementation of permanent structured cooperation. The debate will, in particular, cover the development of a common set of project governance rules, the establishment of more binding objectives for common security policy (CSP) and the identification process for forthcoming projects. By June at the latest, the Council is expected to adopt a recommendation defining the different stages in the conduct of commitments for the 2018-2020 and 2021-2025 phases (see EUROPE 11975).
Finally, the informal meeting will tackle the prospects for crisis management operations, in connection with the current security challenges and potential cooperation with international organisations present on the ground. NATO Secretary General Jens Soltenberg and UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix are also expected to attend the working session. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)