PeSCo: The Cyprus Perspective

This paper aims to shed light on the Cypriot perspective when considering Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo), as it was agreed with the Joint Notification to the Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy by the then twenty-three EU Member States in December 20171. Through PeSCo, Cyprus aims to contribute to the fulfillment of the Union’s level of ambition that was defined in the EU Global Strategy in 20161. Nicosia’s objective is to develop military capabilities via joint procurement projects with the involvement of its small and medium size enterprises.

Although the country acknowledges that it may be too early to evaluate the outcome of the first round of the PeSCo projects, it is in general satisfied with the direction and implementation process of the projects which it is a member of. According to the national approach, third parties could get involved in the initiative, provided that they meet the necessary requirements…