Radar defence
(BRUSSELS) – EU defence ministers gave the go-ahead Tuesday to an updated list of 13 new projects to be undertaken under the EU’s new ‘Permanent Structured Cooperation’ defence structure PESCO.
This decision brings to 47 the number of projects currently in place.The Council formally adopted the first set of 17 projects on 6 March 2018 and the second set of 17 projects on 20 November 2018.
Of the new project s, five focus on training, covering areas such as cyber, diving, tactical, medical as well as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRND) training.
Other projects focus on enhancing EU collaborative actions as well as on capability development on sea, air and space.
The Council adopted a decision establishing Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) on 11 December 2017.
PESCO enables EU member states to work more closely together in the area of security and defence. This permanent framework for defence cooperation allows willing and able member states to develop jointly defence capabilities, invest in shared projects, and enhance the operational readiness and contribution of their armed forces.
The 25 member states participating in PESCO are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
