PESCO: EU approves US participation for the first time

The European Union recently approved the requests of Norway, Canada and United States to participate in Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) defence initiative. This is the first time; the European bloc has allowed a third state to participate in the PESCO project. The countries will now participate in the Military Mobility Project in Europe.

What is PESCO?

It is a part of the European Union security and defence policy. It was introduced based on the Treaty of European Union introduced by Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.

PESCO and NATO

Around four-fifths of the PESCO members are also NATO members. NATO is North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

US And PESCO

The United States has raised concerns against PESCO several times. According to analysts, it is the sign that US fears loss of influence in Europe. The US sells 1 billion Euros of weapons to the European Union countries every year.

Military Mobility Project

It is to aid the free movement of military units in the European Union through improvement of infrastructure and removal of bureaucratic barriers. It mainly revolves around two areas namely bureaucratic barriers (like passport checks) and requirement of advance notice. During NATO emergency, the troops can move freely and fastly. However, during peacetime, advance notice is required.

Background

In November 2020, the European Union allowed non-EU members to participate in PESCO. Following this, Canada, US and Norway had requested to participate in PESCO.

Neutral States in PESCO

Four of the states in European Union declare themselves as neutral. They are Austria, Ireland, Finland and Sweden.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021