‘Pooling and Sharing’ and ‘Permanent Structured Cooperation’ as the Current EU’s Defense and Security Integration Modes

Abstract

ABSTRACT When an urgent response in international relations is needed, the EU institutions and Member States’ governments face a deficiency of effective and practical mechanisms in security cooperation. Developing autonomous programs and concepts that address this dilemma, preventing duplication of endeavors and investments, and maximizing cost-effectiveness by broadening military-political consultations on all issues of common concern is challenging. This article analyses the path and logic of EU security integration in the recent decade. In this context, the origins and goals of the pooling and sharing concept are essential to analyze the continuity of security integration, where the Council’s introduction of Permanent Structured Cooperation in defense and security is an important step forward. Therefore, this article will investigate whether and how P&S and PESCO have been related and complemented, even though both differ in the prism of aims, logic, decision-making processes, and funding. Due to budgetary throwbacks in recent decades and the war in Ukraine intensified after February 2022, EU Member States’ governments might evaluate their approach to the level of engagement in common security programs.