The third wave of PESCO projects: much more 'high tech'. The preview list (v2)

(B2 - exclusive) The High Representative of the EU has prepared the recommendation to launch the formal procedure for the adoption of the third wave of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects

A larger participation

According to our information drawn from good sources, the list should ultimately include 13 projects, and not 15 like those presented during the preparatory phase (read: The third wave of PESCO projects in the starting blocks. Fifteen projects presented). Seven are more operationally oriented, three more capacity-oriented and three others are mixed. In the end, the PESCO will therefore include, with the two previous waves, 47 projects. Which is notably important, but according to the established formula, allows to representing European diversity " and of " meet important needs ».

High tech projects

In these thirteen projects, there are a large number of training, cyber or space projects, the maritime or air projects being more limited. They are, for the most part, marked by a very strong trend towards high technology and the techniques of the future.

A more multinational participation

The number of participating countries per project is higher than in the first two waves. The tendency is to have more multinational projects with an average of three to five participants ” confides an expert of the file. Among the project leaders, there is a fairly strong presence of countries from the South and especially from the East. This was not the case in the last two waves and contributes to a certain geographical rebalancing. France leads three of the thirteen projects and participates in several others (often in a cross-border fashion, for example with Spain). A sign of greater involvement and a desire to strengthen the hard core of PESCO (Germany-France-Spain-Italy).

An original sin that shows through

If all these projects have an interest in terms of defence, we find however the generic defect of the PESCO projects. This list reflects more the priorities or concerns of the Member States than the response to a coherent policy of strengthening the European Union's capabilities to be able to act jointly in operations (1). Some projects look deceptively like 'centres of excellence', typical of the NATO organization, " camouflaged in the form of European projects.

Projects that are part of the NATO sector

However, this list has several significant interests: developing new technological bricks, stimulating the European defense industry, making European cooperation a natural vector of work and strengthening the EU-NATO link. We thus perceive that several of these projects are moreover derived from or taken over from programs already developed within the Atlantic Alliance. They will thus undoubtedly make it possible to strengthen the European pillar within NATO.

The list of thirteen projects

NB: The order as the name of the projects does not automatically correspond to the official or definitive terminology.

1. EU Cyber ​​Academy & Innovation Hub (EU-CAIH), led by the Portugal (+ Spain).
2. Integrated European Joint Training and Simulation Center (EUROSIM), driven by Hungary (+ France, Germany, Poland, Slovenia)
3. Special Operation Forces Medical Training Center (SoMTC), driven by Poland (+ Hungary)
   
4. EU Network of Diving Center (EU-NDC), driven by Romania (+ Bulgaria and France)
5. CBRN Defense Training Range (CBRN-DTR), driven by Romania (+ France and Italy)
6. Cyber ​​and Information Domain monitoring Coordination Center (CIDCC), led by theGermany (+ Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Spain).
7. EU Collaborative Warfare Capabilities (ECOWAR) — collaborative warfare, driven by France (+ Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Spain, Sweden).
8. Maritime Unmanned Anti Submarine System (MUSAS), led by the Portugal (+ France, Spain, Sweden).
9. European Patrol Corvettes (EPC), led by theItaly (+France).
10. EU Global RPAS Insertion Architecture System, driven by theItaly (+ France and Romania).
11. Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA), led by theSpain (+ France and Sweden).
12. Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based Theater Surveillance (TWISTER), led by the France (+ Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain).
13. Materials & components for Technological EU Competitiveness (MAC-EU), driven by France (+ Romania and Spain)

At the level of the participation of the Member States, we can notice a significant investment of France which is present in 10 projects out of 13 (including three in which it is the leader) and more generally of the PESCO quartet (France, Spain, Italy, Germany), one of whose members is present in almost all the projects (with one exception - the Polish-Hungarian medical training center project.

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Terms of the projects corrected - paper completed on November 7 with the names of the participating countries

(1) The objective given by Article 42 of the Treaty to permanent structured cooperation is to be able to achieve " the most demanding missions ».