Strategic Panorama 2009 - 2010 - IEEE

The Treaty of Lisbon and the common security and defence policy
which have made more binding commitments to one another in this area
with a view to the most demanding missions shall establish Permanent
Structured Cooperation (PSC) within the Union framework.
This formula is designed to bolster the European Union’s defence
capabilities in order to strengthen its crisis response skills (12).
Article 46 establishes that those Member States which wish to participate
in the PSC, fulfil the criteria and have made the commitments on military
capabilities set out in the Protocol on PSC, shall notify their intention to
the Council and to the HR. Within three months following the notification,
the Council, after consulting the HR, shall adopt a decision by a qualified
majority. Any Member State which, at a later stage, wishes to participate in
the PSC shall notify its intention to the Council and to the HR. The Council,
acting by a qualified majority after consulting the HR, in a vote in which only
members of the Council may take part, shall adopt a decision confirming the
participation of the Member State concerned which fulfils the criteria and
makes the commitments referred to in the aforementioned the Protocol.
The Treaty also provides for the possibility of the voluntary withdrawal
of a Member State or suspension of its participation if it no longer fulfils
the criteria or is unable to meet the commitments.
Sven Biscop warns of the risks posed by an imbalance in the implementation
of Permanent Structured Cooperation. While an «avant-garde»
of a few committed countries could probably achieve greater cohesion
and improve expectations of short-term results, the consequences of leaving
other nations out could obscure this initiative politically. Indeed, this
could even lead to a divide between Member States in the implementation
of Common Security and Defence Policy measures (13).
The conclusion is that PSC is a mechanism that allows participation
in the development of the capabilities of a «Europe of defence» by giving
impetus to processes for which it would otherwise be very difficult to achieve
consensus. Nonetheless, PSC should be inclusive and facilitate as far as
possible the progressive incorporation of Member States who wish to join.
(12) COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Ministerial Declaration: «ESDP Ten Years –
Challenges and Opportunities». 2974th External Relations Council meeting, Brussels, 17
November 2009. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/
en/gena/111253.pdf
(13) BISCOP, SVEN. «Permanent Structured Cooperation and the future of ESDP». Egmont
Paper 20. Royal Institute for International Relations. http://www.egmontinstitute.be/
paperegm/ep20.pdf
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