Abstract
In December 2017 the EU established Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). Previously an unused instrument in the Treaty on European Union, PESCO enables able and willing EU member states to develop their defence capabilities and improve the deployability of their forces through common projects. This article argues that PESCO has the potential to become a game changer for EU defence cooperation and could help the Union to achieve strategic autonomy, but only if (1) the participating member states do more than the minimum required to fulfil their binding PESCO commitments, (2) the implementation of PESCO is monitored rigorously at the national and EU levels and (3) there are consequences for those member states that fail to meet their commitments. Otherwise, PESCO will become—like the Battlegroups before it—another oversold EU security and defence initiative that failed to meet the expectations placed on it.
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