Answer given by Vice-President Mogherini on behalf of the European Commission (24.6.2019).
Increasing cooperation between the EU and NATO has been central to the Commission’s work on defence policy, as demonstrated by the statements by President Tusk, President Juncker and
Secretary-General Stoltenberg of 2016 and 2018.
Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is aimed at deepening defence cooperation between Member States of the European Union to help address long standing capability gaps which are recognised in both the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It will also be to the benefit of NATO as Member States own the capabilities and can make them available for NATO operations. PESCO has recognised the Capability Development Plan (CDP)1 as the basis for the identification of projects. The CDP itself is built taking into account the outcomes of the NATO Defence Planning Process.
Moreover, addressing NATO requirements is one of the key assessment criteria for the selection of PESCO projects and the need to avoid any unnecessary duplication with ongoing efforts is part of the assessment mechanism as well.
Regarding military mobility and in accordance with the EU Action Plan of March 20183 , the proposed actions linked to transport infrastructure aim to improve the movement of military forces within and beyond the EU. The work is based on the EU Military Requirements, which were approved by the Council in November 2018. These Requirements were developed in close cooperation at the EU level and in consultation with NATO as appropriate. Läs svaret