Thread by @SophiaBesch

For the record, on 'Does #PESCO equal an EU army?':

PESCO is about increasing interoperability and industrial competitiveness in Europe, and decreasing the number of different weapon systems (through financial incentives for PESCO members to jointly develop capabilities). 1/x

External Tweet loading...
If nothing shows, it may have been deleted
by @geareddev view original on Twitter

Military capacities developed within PESCO remain in the hands of member-states that can also make them available in other contexts such as through NATO or the UN. 2/x

Governments do not want to give up their sovereign national prerogative to deploy troops. What makes sense though, is to train and exercise them together to increase interoperability (in fact, NATO does this too, see Framework Nation Concept) 3/x

PESCO is a member-state - led initiative. Only PESCO members get a vote on overall policy direction and assessment mechanism, and decisions are taken by unanimity. Participation remains voluntary. 4/x

Not sure you want to take my word for it? The NATO Secretary General and Boris Johnson think #PESCO is a good idea. (nato.int/cps/en/natohq/…, telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/1…) 5/x

Can #PESCO deliver? That's another thread for another day. But don't let the EU army monster distract you from the real challenges of European defence integration. 6/6