Read more about the article How can the European Defence Fund help the development of European Defence Capabilities?
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How can the European Defence Fund help the development of European Defence Capabilities?

The geopolitical context of the European Union (EU) has changed significantly in recent years, leading Member States to face new threats. Confronted with this situation, European leaders have agreed to work more closely together in defence and security. EU Member States are not cooperating appropriately, which has led to inefficient use of funds, wasteful duplication, and inadequate deployability of defence troops. The military industry is characterised by rising defence equipment costs as well as expensive Research and Development (R&D) costs, which limit the launch of new military programmes and have a direct impact on the EU Defence Technological and Industrial Base’s (EDTIB) competitiveness and innovation (EU Parliament and Council, 2021). The level of defence spending varies significantly amongst Member States. Increased solidarity is required to deliver joint defence capabilities, particularly through the engagement of the EU budget. The cost of non-cooperation between Member States in the field of defence and security is estimated at between €25 billion and €100 billion every year (Maelcamp, I.; Ungaro, A.R.).

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16 November 2021
Read more about the article Turkey’s Participation in the PESCO Military Mobility Project
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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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9 September 2021
Read more about the article EUFOR Crisis Response Operation Core: Enhancing Resilience through Interoperability
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EUFOR Crisis Response Operation Core: Enhancing Resilience through Interoperability

Following the Juncker’s Commission White Paper Scenario “Who Wants to Do More, Does More”, the Permanent Structured Cooperation’s (PESCO) 25 members are currently developing 47 projects covering the areas of training, land, maritime, air, cyber, and space. Among land initiatives, EUFOR stands out in fostering a coherent full spectrum force package as envisaged by PESCO’s core aim.

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24 August 2021
Read more about the article European Defence Fund: Dilemmas and Potentials
Credits: Stocklib/anolkil. Undated. Link: https://www.stocklib.fr/media-103154797/soldier-in-glasses-of-virtual-reality-military-concept-of-the-future.html?keyword=armée
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European Defence Fund: Dilemmas and Potentials

The launch of the €7.9 billion European Defence Fund (EDF) materialises years of talks and debates over the emergence of a European defence industrial and technological cooperation. The EDF is set to finance defence capability and critical technologies projects such as the next generation of aircraft fighters, tanks, semiconductors, cybersecurity, or communication systems.

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27 July 2021
Read more about the article Progress in PESCO’s Military Mobility Project: US, Canada, and Norway Invited to Participate
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Progress in PESCO’s Military Mobility Project: US, Canada, and Norway Invited to Participate

On 11 December 2017, the Council of the EU adopted the decision to establish the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO Secretariat, 2021). PESCO aims to enhance defence cooperation and army interoperability between EU member states who are willing and able to participate (ibid). Concretely, it provides a framework to increase cooperation in the planning, development, investment, and operability of defence capabilities between the 25 participating EU member states (ibid; EDA, 2021). This way, PESCO is a collaborative effort to create “a coherent full spectrum of defence capabilities available to Member States for national and multinational (EU, NATO, UN, etc.) missions and operations” (PESCO Secretariat, 2021). It is a strong form of cooperation as participation in PESCO entails automatic subscription to the list of legally binding commitments enshrined in article 2 of Protocol 10 annexed to the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) (ibid).

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20 May 2021