Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO): background, perspectives and implications for Switzerland

By the end of 2017, 25 EU Member States had joined the newly established Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). This cooperation framework aims at deepening technological and institutional interoperability between hitherto predominantly national armament policies and armed forces structures. This CSS study by Amos Dossi and Daniel Keohane sheds light on PESCO’s background, analyzes the positions of the main actors involved and discusses implications for Switzerland.