Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
361. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, projects in which Ireland has observer status; his plans to participate in further PESCO projects; the criteria that will be used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40401/20]
View answer366. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Defence if Ireland will be submitting permanent structured co-operation, PESCO, project proposals with an operational focus in order to facilitate joint deployment in the field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40406/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 361 and 366 together.
Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is a process under which groups of Member States can come together to develop capabilities in support of Common CSDP Operations. On a voluntary basis, 25 EU Member States, including Ireland, have joined PESCO and subscribed to more binding commitments to invest, plan, develop and operate defence capabilities together within this EU framework.
The objective of PESCO is to generate coherent defence capabilities which will be available to Member States for national and multinational (EU, NATO, UN, etc.) missions and operations. This will enhance the EU’s capacity as an international security actor, to contribute to the protection of EU citizens, support international peace and security and maximise the effectiveness of defence spending by participating member States.
Forty seven PESCO projects have been launched to-date. These include projects in the areas of capability development and in the operational dimension. Each project is managed by the participating member States with oversight from the Council.
Ireland's participation in PESCO was agreed by Government and approved by Dáil Éireann prior to the Council Decision establishing PESCO on 11 December 2017. Ireland has Observer status on nine PESCO projects – (1) Deployable Military Disaster Relief Capability Package; (2) Maritime (semi) Autonomous Systems for Mine Countermeasures; (3) Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform; (4) European Secure Software Defined Radio; (5) Military Mobility; (6) Energy Operational Function; (7) EU Radio Navigation Solution; (8) Counter Unmanned Aerial System; (9) Special Operations Forces Medical Training Centre.
As an observer, the Defence Forces get the opportunity to assess the project’s objectives and what value the project would bring to Defence Forces capabilities. There is ongoing assessment of the feedback from theses project meetings by my Department and the Defence Forces. Should there be merit in participating in any of these projects, that will be then be progressed in association with the project participants.
The next call for new PESCO Proposals will be launched by the PESCO Secretariat in March 2021 with a deadline of submission of proposals by the end of June 2021. While there are no plans currently for Ireland to submit PESCO project proposals with a specific operational focus, my Department and the Defence Forces will assess the proposed projects that Member States submit and will also keep under review any potential for Ireland to submit a project proposal.
