Back to EUR-Lex homepage

EUR-Lex Access to European Union law

Back to EUR-Lex homepage

This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website

Use quotation marks to search for an "exact phrase". Append an asterisk (*) to a search term to find variations of it (transp*, 32019R*). Use a question mark (?) instead of a single character in your search term to find variations of it (ca?e finds case, cane, care).
Search tips
Need more search options? Use the Advanced search
You are here

Summaries of EU Legislation

Permanent structured cooperation on defence and security (PESCO)

 

SUMMARY OF:

Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 establishing permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) and determining the list of participating Member States

Decision (CFSP) 2018/340 establishing the list of projects to be developed under PESCO

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DECISIONS?

  • Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 sets up permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) between European Union (EU) Member States with the aim of increasing their effectiveness in addressing security challenges and working towards further integrating and strengthening defence cooperation within the EU. It also sets out the list of the participating Member States.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2018/340 lists the agreed initial collaborative projects, covering areas such as training, capability development and operational readiness.
  • PESCO was first outlined in the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in Article 42(6) and Article 46, and in Protocol 10.

KEY POINTS

Participating Member States

In all, 26 of the 27 Member States have opted to be part of PESCO: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

Objectives

The participating Member States work together to develop projects to:

  • enhance military training and exercises;
  • strengthen their capabilities, including in cyberspace.

While participation is voluntary, decisions remain in the hands of the individual Member States and the specific character of their security and defence policies is taken into account.

The participating Member States agree to cooperate in order to achieve approved objectives in security and defence, committing to more binding common commitments in the following five areas, as set out in Article 2 of Protocol 10 to the TEU.

  • Investing in defence equipment:
    • regularly increase defence budgets;
    • increase defence investment expenditure to 20% of total defence spending;
    • increase joint and collaborative strategic defence capability projects;
    • increase spending on defence research and technology to 2% of total defence spending.
  • Harmonising, pooling resources and reducing duplication:
    • play a substantial role in capability development, in line with EU ambition;
    • support the coordinated annual review on defence (CARD);
    • intensively involve the European Defence Fund, set up under Regulation (EU) 2021/697 (see summary), in multinational procurement;
    • draw up harmonised requirements for all capability development projects;
    • consider the joint use of existing capabilities;
    • increase cooperation on cyberdefence.
  • Improving availability and deployability:
    • make strategically deployable formations available;
    • develop a database of capabilities that are ready to be rapidly deployed;
    • aim to fast-track national political commitment, including possibly reviewing national decision-making procedures;
    • provide support for personnel, equipment and training for common security and defence policy operations and missions;
    • contribute substantially to the EU battlegroups;
    • simplify and standardise cross-border military transport for rapid deployment;
    • agree on common evaluation and validation criteria for the EU battlegroups with NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation);
    • agree on common technical and operational standards for forces, to ensure interoperability with NATO;
    • play an active role in the main existing and future EU external action military structures, such as Eurocorps, the Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE) and Air Transport & Air-to-Air Refuelling and other Exchanges of Services (Atares);
    • agree on an ambitious approach to common funding of military operations and missions under the common security and defence policy.
  • Overcoming capability shortcomings:
  • Utilising the European Defence Agency and the defence industry:
    • use the European Defence Agency as the forum for joint capability development and consider the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) for programme management;
    • ensure that projects make the European defence industry more competitive via an appropriate industrial policy;
    • ensure that cooperation programmes have a positive impact on the European defence technological and industrial base.

The Member States must submit national implementation plans that outline their capabilities and willingness to fulfil the commitments.

In March 2018, the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation for a PESCO implementation roadmap, which would provide strategic direction and guidance to the Member States. It also set out a timeline for agreement on possible future projects and the main principles for projects to be adopted by the Council by the end of June 2018.

Amendments to Decision (CFSP) 2018/340

Decision (CFSP) 2018/340 has been amended five times.

  • Decision (CFSP) 2018/1797 updated the list of projects, bringing the total to 34.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2019/1909 updated the list of projects, bringing the total to 47.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2020/1746 updated the list of projects, bringing the total to 46, reflecting the fact that the members of the European Union Training Mission Competence Centre project had decided to close the project.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2021/2008 updated the list of projects, bringing the total to 60.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2023/995 updated the list of projects, bringing the total to 72.

FROM WHEN DO THE DECISIONS APPLY?

  • Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 setting up PESCO has applied since 11 December 2017.
  • Decision (CFSP) 2018/340 has applied since 6 March 2018.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Council Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 of 11 December 2017 establishing permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) and determining the list of participating Member States (OJ L 331, 14.12.2017, pp. 57–77).

Successive amendments to Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/340 of 6 March 2018 establishing the list of projects to be developed under PESCO (OJ L 65, 8.3.2018, pp. 24–27).

See consolidated version.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Council Recommendation of 6 March 2018 concerning a roadmap for the implementation of PESCO (OJ C 88, 8.3.2018, pp. 1–4).

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union – Title V – General provisions on the Union’s external action and specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy – Chapter 2 – Specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy – Section 2 – Provisions on the common security and defence policy – Article 42 (ex Article 17 TEU) (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 38–39).

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union – Title V – General provisions on the Union’s external action and specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy – Chapter 2 – Specific provisions on the common foreign and security policy – Section 2 – Provisions on the common security and defence policy – Article 46 (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 40–41).

Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union – Protocol (No 10) on permanent structured cooperation established by Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union (OJ C 202, 7.6.2016, pp. 275–277).

Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835 of 12 October 2015 defining the statute, seat and operational rules of the European Defence Agency (recast) (OJ L 266, 13.10.2015, pp. 55–74).

See consolidated version.

last update 08.09.2023

Top