X-ray (or post-mortem?) of Permanent Structured Cooperation and insights for European cooperation

Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), established by the Lisbon Treaty in 2008,
constitutes the political and legal framework intended to host defence cooperation among
Member States within the European Union (EU). Its underlying principle is straightforward:
those states that wish to cooperate on a specific issue do so together, while those that do not
are not required to participate, reflecting the logic of “willing and able” states. In essence, it
enables multiple coalitions of the willing, facilitated by the EU. Yet, more than eight years after
its launch in 2017, what has been achieved? The outcome is worrying.

The purpose of this study is therefore to provide as objective an assessment as possible of the
state of PESCO at the end of 2025, while acknowledging the inherent limitations of such an
exercise. The study examines all projects, their composition, participating states, and levels of
progress, among other aspects. The findings are unequivocal: for instance, only three projects,
out of 83 launched, have achieved their objectives over an eight-year period. PESCO has failed
to establish itself as the primary framework for European defence cooperation and has
consequently not contributed to a strengthening of European defence.

Should PESCO therefore be considered a failure to be discarded? The most striking illustration
of the shortcomings of European cooperation in the field of armaments? Cooperation is a
method, cooperation frameworks are instruments, and neither can be an end in themselves.
It is the objectives that are at issue, and more specifically the states that define them. Member
States are indeed the actors that have constrained the potential of European cooperation as
a means of strengthening common defence, and this responsibility is clearly reflected in the
analysis of PESCO projects.