Greek FM welcomes signature of PESCO agreement by 23 EU states

Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias welcomed a deal signed by 23 of the 28 European Union member-states earlier on Monday for closer cooperation in security and defence, during the EU foreign ministers’ council.

“Today we discussed Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), in other words the shaping of a European defence industry,” Kotzias noted, announcing the signature of a cooperation agreement.

The agreement was the first official step toward setting up PESCO, he pointed out, and 23 EU member-states had agree with the principles of PESCO. “PESCO is an ambitious, binding and non-exclusive European legal framework for investments in the defence sector and the security of EU territory and citizens,” Kotzias said.

The 23 countries also signed a list of “ambitious and more binding shared obligations” that the member-states have undertaken, he continued, including “regularly increasing budgets for defence in real terms, in order to achieve agreed targets” and proposals for PESCO’s governance.

The EU member-states that inked the agreement include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Other states are free to join at a later date.

Kotzias also referred to a meeting organized with his counterpart from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the sidelines of the foreign ministers’ council on Monday. He said their discussion had focused on issues relating to organisations and mechanisms for the media and information in the EU, with Kotzias stressing the need to have the right policy. “In Europe we need a policy that is based more on values, democracy, its social work and a vision for a different society,” he added.