Oratio pro PESCO

The Royal Institute for International Relations is an independent think-tank based in Brussels. Its interdisciplinary research is conducted in a spirit of total academic freedom. Drawing on the expertise of its own research fellows, as well as that of external specialists, both Belgian and foreign, it provides analysis and policy options that are meant to be as operational as possible.In the wake of the Brexit referendum in the UK and the publication of the EU Global Strategy, or EUGS, in June 2016, there was a flurry of proposals by Member States to deepen defence cooperation in the context of the EU. Most notable was a proposal by the French, German, Italian and Spanish defence ministers that saw the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), an unused provision of the Lisbon Treaty, as 'a fundamental instrument'. It would allow for the creation of a smaller group, of Member States 'whose military capabilities fulfil higher criteria and which have made more binding commitments to one another in this area with a view to the most demanding missions', to cooperate 'within the Union framework'. It seemed that the combination of three powerful agents, Putin, Brexit, and Trump, had started the decontamination process of this provision that had been seen as toxic since it was last discussed in 2010.