Turkey’s Participation in the PESCO Military Mobility Project

Since its establishment in December 2017 by the Council of the European Union under the Council Decision 2017/2315, the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which consists of all EU Member States (MS) minus Denmark and Malta, has supervised the development of 47 projects (PESCO Secretariat, 2021). Among these projects is the Military Mobility (MM) project, founded in 2018 and characterized by the nearly full participation of PESCO Members, apart from Ireland. Coordinated by the Netherlands, the MM project aims to simplify and standardise cross-border military transport procedures, side-stepping long bureaucratic procedures for the movement of military personnel and equipment through or over the EU MS (PESCO Secretariat, 2021), thereby enhancing the availability, interoperability, flexibility, and deploy-ability of the forces of the MS, as required by Article 2(c) of Protocol 10 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU). This purpose is coherent with the binding Commitment 12, undertaken by PESCO participating states, which requires states to simplify and standardise “cross border military transport in Europe for enabling rapid deployment of military materiel and personnel” (PESCO Secretariat, 2021; Latici, 2019, 2).

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Ethical and Legal Considerations for Biomedical Performance Enhancement in the Military

Since antiquity, exceeding the natural capacities of human beings has always been a concern for states and cities. With advancements in medicine and biotechnology, all major world powers are now exploring new ways to increase the psychological and physical capacities of their soldiers. The use of pharmacological products could, in theory, be used to improve soldier strength, mental capacity, recovery, and resistance to fatigue and trauma. However, the ethical and legal frameworks within which the use of pharmacological technology would be acceptable remains uncertain. Debates surrounding the use of performance enhancement drugs often revolve around concerns regarding safety and side effects. This paper seeks to go beyond those concerns and examine the ethical and legal considerations, assuming these products are safe and approved for military use.

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Anticipating Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflict

Since the end of the Cold War, the amount of private military and security companies (PMSCs) involved in armed conflicts has increased rapidly. In armed conflicts, the PMSCs carry out tasks that used to be performed by governmentally armed forces. These include non-coercive as well as coercive activities, ranging from military training and intelligence analysis to offensive combat and interrogation of prisoners (Tonkin, 2012, 1). Meanwhile, it remains unclear to what extent PMSCs increase the severity of armed conflicts (Lees and Petersohn, 2021, 1). It is clear, however, that the activities of PMSCs in armed conflicts impact European land forces and their objectives. In Libya, for instance, Russia has backed the Libyan National Army (LNA) with PMSC forces, among other things. Allegedly, Russian leaders hoped this could help them gain control over oil reserves in Libya, on which several European countries depend. Besides, Libya is located strategically on NATO’s southern flank (Cragin and MacKenzie, 2020). This is just one example of a country where foreign PMSCs and European armed forces are involved in a conflict. The question is how European land forces can anticipate the presence of foreign PMSCs in armed conflicts in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Therefore, this article will focus on the operational rather than the legal and ethical aspects of the activities of PMSCs in armed conflict.

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