PESCO: The Spanish Perspective

Almost a decade after its adoption in the Lisbon Treaty, Member States have launched the permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) to reaffirm their commitment to European defence. Spain has always been a strong supporter of the European integration process in general and of the development of a Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in particular. This paper strives to explain the Spanish vision regarding the inclusive or exclusive approaches to PESCO; analyse Spain’s prominent role in the decision-making process together with Germany, France and Italy; and finally assess the projects with Spanish participation, the operational, industrial and financial interests behind them as well as PESCO’s impact on national defence planning…