Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on the EU's permanent structured cooperation in security and defence.

The EU is said to review the way it has implemented the so-called permanent structured cooperation in the field of security and defence, PESCO for

short, before the end of the year. It'll be an opportunity to review strengths and weaknesses

and see how to better match ambitions with capabilities to pursue its own security interests

and become a strategic global security provider. But without clear purpose and direction,

the EU's quest for strategic autonomy could end

up being little more than a catchphrase.

Want to know more?

Stay with us.

PESCO is a treaty-based framework to deepen security and defence cooperation between member

states who are

capable and willing to do so. The process was launched in 2017 with 25 EU member states

who acknowledged the need for enhanced coordination, increased investment and more cooperation

in developing defence capabilities, pooling and sharing military equipment and ensuring that

their forces can operate together.

The decision to launch PESCO was in line with the EU's ambitions for more strategic autonomy,

enshrined in its global strategy for foreign and security policy, and in its implementation

plan on security and defence.

The aim was to boost the EU's capacity as an international security actor to better protect

EU citizens and to get more value for money in defence spending.

But what is the difference between PESCO and other forms of cooperation and how does it interact

with other EU defence initiatives?

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