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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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consolidating the EU as a global, normative and
diplomatic player with an increasing role in
global governance, providing the external di-
mension of the EU’s internal model. It is impor-
tant to note that defence policy is not an ad-
junct of foreign policy, but rather an essential
means of ensuring that the EU can operate
without its activity being constantly conditioned
by external military pressures.
This means that the EU’s presence and influ-
ence in the world will never be the result of its
military capacity, as is the case with other pow-
ers, but will instead reflect the defence of its
common values and shared interests and its vi-
sion of the world, which differs from that of
other international agents, as a result of the
EU’s social model.
This international influence is exercised
through instruments such as trade policy, ex-
pansion and partnerships with neighbouring
countries, humanitarian aid, development poli-
cy and culture. However, this requires a collec-
tive defence capacity that includes the option of
exercising the legitimate right to self-defence by
using force in the face of external aggression.
PESCO was created to give effect to the prin-
ciple of strategic autonomy, as set out in the
Global Strategy. This also established the goal of
being able to defend the EU’s territory and its
citizens without recourse to support from other
states. The method for achieving this objective
is through PESCO, which is designed to prepare
the defensive capacities required to deal with
any threat which endangers the territorial integ-
rity of Member States.
PESCO is designed to ensure that the EU
maintains its international standing and to enable
it to defend international law. Its purpose is to
give force to the principle of legitimate collective
defence, enabling the use of rapid intervention
capacities and their deployment in the face of
external aggression which threatens the territo-
rial integrity of Member States.
The implementation of PESCO in 2017 and
2018
During 2016 and 2017, a number of steps were
taken towards the creation of an EU defence
force, including the Bratislava Declaration on a
new relationship with NATO, the European
Defence Action Plan, progress to achieve opera-
tional capacity, the creation of an operational HQ,
the Commission’s European Defence Fund and, in
particular, significant progress towards PESCO.
The Joint Declaration of the President of the
European Commission and the Secretary
General of NATO, following the informal meet-
ing of 27 EU Defence Ministers on 26 and 27
September 2016 in Bratislava, stated that the
EU and NATO are seeking a new relationship
based on mutual aid and cooperation, confirm-
ing a new climate and acceptance of the Global
Strategy. The declaration contained a set of con-
clusions adopted by the respective councils, in-
cluding more than 40 proposals. This declara-
tion broke the deadlock in the relationship
between the two organizations, making it pos-
sible to implement PESCO, which had been the
object of some suspicion on the part of NATO.
In June 2017, the European Council decided
to activate PESCO, establishing a period of three
months for Member States to commit to par-
ticipating in the project, under the terms estab-
lished in the agreement. After evaluating these
commitments, the Foreign Affairs and Defence
Council of 13 November 2017 decided to move
ahead, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and
Defence signed the joint notification. Of the