The more they change PESCO the more it seems to duplicate NATO - and to what purpose?
Further, they would appear to want others to join based on what they can bring to the table - but insist on keeping all the positive elements to the EU members - specifically all funding and defence procurement as in the links above, and now any voice in the say of an organisation they suggest they would like the UK, Canada or the USA to join. The article below suggests their incentive would be access to procurement contracts. However, based on PESCO’s charter as given in the previous links that would be extremely naive to believe......
https://www.politico.eu/article/euro...lux-countries/
The EU’s new military pact should be opened up to countries outside the bloc — such as the U.S., Norway and the U.K. — after Brexit, according to a proposal to be discussed by European defense ministers next month.
The idea — put forward as a “food for thought paper” by Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — would, if implemented, erode the EU exclusivity of the military cooperation forum. But it offers another way besides NATO to keep Britain, in particular, engaged in European security structures after next year. The U.K. is the biggest military spender of the current 28 EU countries and a rare one able to project force into distant combat zones. This proposal opens a path for Britain, or another so-called third country, to take a role in future EU military initiatives, including in an EU rapid reaction force.
The two-page document, titled “Third state participation in PESCO projects,” states: “Certain PESCO projects can benefit from participation by non-EU countries in terms of providing capacities, specific expertise or financial contributions that are useful for either capacity development or operations.” It proposes that third countries “be invited by the participating Member States of a PESCO project acting unanimously and on a case-by-case basis.”........
The document, which was obtained by POLITICO, has the backing of 10 other EU member countries: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Portugal, Sweden and Finland...... The Benelux proposal lays out conditions under which the participation of a non-EU country would be considered: specific expertise or assets, economies of scale, and a financial, operational or capacity contribution to the project.
But it states that “a third state will not be involved in any decision making in relation to general PESCO matters.”......
A Dutch diplomat stressed, though, that the Benelux proposal is bigger than Britain or Brexit: “It’s not only the U.K. We work a lot with Norway that could contribute, but also the U.S., Canada or Switzerland.”........