On Thursday 6 May, the Council of the EU adopted favourable decisions authorising the Netherlands, coordinator of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project on military mobility, to invite Canada, Norway and the United States to participate in this project.
It therefore considers that these three countries, which have requested to participate in the project, fulfil the general conditions under which third countries could be invited, on an exceptional basis, to participate in specific PESCO projects (see EUROPE 12692/18).
“The expertise of these countries will be useful to the project and thus contribute to improving military mobility within the EU and beyond”, said High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, “these three countries will bring invaluable expertise and know-how to the project in terms of troop deployment and host and transit country activities”.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the decision, recalling that non-European Allies play an essential role in the defence and protection of Europe.
This is the first time that third countries are allowed to participate in a permanent structured cooperation project. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)