Interesting that this moribund thread has been dead for well over a year while Europe has faced a real war on its continent. PESCO is yet another indication that the EU offers nothing for its own security, never mind that of Europe. NATO is the guarantor of European defence, it always has been since its inception, despite EU sullenness, despite US isolationists. It's not that NATO needs the Russian bear, it's the Russian bear that creates the need for NATO. I don't see any change to that any time soon, no matter what happens in the Ukraine or the wider world. Time for the EU to confront its own prejudices and support NATO to the hilt.