On 31 March, the representatives of the EU Member States in the Political and Security Committee (PSC) gave a favourable opinion on the participation of three NATO countries that are not EU Member States—the United States, Canada and Norway—in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project on military mobility.
According to three documents obtained by EUROPE, the PSC notes, among other things, that no classified or sensitive EU information is shared in the project and that it is not being implemented with the support of the European Defence Agency.
The project does not involve the acquisition of weapons, research and development of capabilities, or the use and export of weapons or capabilities and technologies, the Committee explains. “In this context, the participation [of the three countries] in this project will not lead to dependence on [these third countries] nor to restrictions imposed by [these countries] on any EU Member State”, the PSC clarified.
It also adds that the project does not involve entities, investments and funding from the Member States participating in PESCO, nor does it involve requests for EU funding for project activities.
The Political and Security Committee considers that the three countries fulfil the necessary conditions laid down in Article 3 of EU Council Decision 2020/1639 of 5 November 2020 establishing the general conditions under which third States may exceptionally be invited to participate in specific PESCO projects (see EUROPE 12596/15). All three countries have agreements on information security with the EU.
PSC therefore calls on the Member States’ ambassadors in Coreper to take note of this opinion and to recommend to the EU Council that it take a positive decision on the fulfilment of these general conditions by the participation of the three countries in this project. The EU Council could take its decision on 19 April. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)