BOXEL: Europe and the Arabs
The Council of the European Union Member States adopted a decision confirming that Switzerland's participation in the PESCO "Military Mobility" project meets the general conditions set out in the decision issued in November 2020, and will bring significant added value to the project. According to a statement by the European institutions in Brussels, "The decision authorizes the Netherlands, as project coordinator, to formally invite Switzerland to join this PESCO project, in response to Switzerland's request made in September 2024. Once Switzerland completes an administrative agreement with the project, it will become an official member.
The PESCO project "Military Mobility" aims to simplify and standardize military transportation procedures across national borders. It enables the rapid movement of personnel and military assets across the European Union, whether by road, rail, sea or air. Canada, Norway and the United States of America were invited to join the project in 2021, and in 2022, the United Kingdom was invited to join.
The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is one of the pillars of the European Union's defence policy. It provides a framework for defence cooperation between the 26 participating EU Member States that have entered into more binding commitments among themselves. These countries work together to develop defence capabilities, coordinate investments, enhance the operational readiness, interoperability and resilience of their armed forces and cooperate on projects.
On 5 November 2020, the Council adopted the decision (CFSP) 2020/1639 which sets out the general conditions under which third countries can exceptionally be invited to participate in individual PESCO projects. Applicants must meet political, legal and substantive conditions, including sharing the values ​​on which the EU is based and not contradicting the security and defence interests of the EU and its Member States.