Frenemies? The new relationship status of transatlantic security cooperation

By Marie Brethous and Laura Skana

This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 12-April 30, 2018.

Meet PESCO, the new kid on the block.

NATO and PESCO states.
Blue countries are only in PESCO, red are only in NATO,
purple countries are members of both PESCO and NATO
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user JLogan

‘More Security for the EU and its citizens’ is what the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) will bring to the table. The initiative signed by 25 EU member states, aims to enhance their cooperation in the area of security and defence, by allowing them to jointly develop capabilities and therefore enhance EU’s role as an international security actor. The mandate for PESCO is defined in the Treaty of the EU, art 42(6), art 46 and Protocol 10. It is a specific CSDP mechanism that allows member states to voluntarily commit regarding defence and security. On 11 December 2017 the 17 collaborative PESCO projects were introduced, including for example. the establishment of a European Medical Command, an EU training Mission Competence Centre.  On 6 March 2018, the Council adopted a roadmap with strategic direction and a calendar for the review and assessment processes of the national implementation plans.

A brief history of NATO and how PESCO fits in the picture.

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation established in 1949 seeks to ensure security and freedom for its 29 members through political and military means. To do so, NATO sets out capability targets its members need to meet and contribute to. Indeed, NATO plays a crucial role in guiding its members regarding what capabilities the Alliance needs, by using a set of tools in a multinational context. These tools are based on international, multilateral cooperation, e.g. the NATO Response Force (NRF) and the Strategic and intra-lift Capabilities. PESCO, as such, can be considered as another mechanism NATO uses to meet its capability targets, as the former is a centralised unit that could generate significant capacity EU Member States and NATO members cannot generate by themselves (e.g. Germany or France). Thus, following this logic, PESCO actually strengthens the ‘European pillar’ of NATO.

Sharing is caring.

The launch of PESCO was met with US scepticism, especially regarding its relation to NATO. But that just confirms that PESCO has real potential, right? Right. However, it is far from threatening NATO’s position in transatlantic relations.

The 25 States initiative is set to improve burden-sharing within the Alliance, in a way that would not be competing, but would be complementary to NATO. As per Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, PESCO needs more coherence regarding development of capabilities, i.e. avoiding two sets of requirements for the same nations. Therefore, developments under PESCO must also be available for NATO. Further, it is positive for the US, as the 25 EU States will also be capable of mounting autonomous operations in their own periphery, without needing to recourse to American assets.