On Thursday 30 November, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called for an increase in the ambition of permanent structured cooperation (PESCO).
“We have 68 cooperative projects, but I think that we have to increase the level of our ambition, because these projects are important but they are in the periphery of the military capacity”, he lamented during his speech at the European Defence Agency (EDA) conference.
“Why shouldn’t we think that the next generation of warships could be a PESCO project?” he asked, arguing that this would strengthen the role of the EDA. According to Mr Borrell, the PESCO’s projects must “touch the core of military capabilities”.
Also at the conference, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for more PESCO projects to be coordinated by the European Defence Agency. At present, 10 out of 68 projects are coordinated by the EDA.
In mid-November, the EU Council decided to launch a strategic review of the PESCO, to be completed by the end of 2025 at the latest (see EUROPE 13293/27). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)