C 433/8
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
15.11.2022
cooperate with partners, to protect its citizens and defend its values and interests.
Furthermore, in view of the objectives adopted in the framework of the Strategic Compass, more efforts are needed to use the full potential of PESCO.
A stronger and more capable EU in security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which remains the foundation of collective defence for its members.
1.
National Implementation Plans
4.
Acknowledging the need for the pMS to better achieve concrete deliverables and to facilitate implementation with regard to the fulfilment of the more binding commitments as soon as possible, and by the end of 2025, the Council underlines that the pMS have made progress, to varying degrees, in implementing the 20 more binding commitments they have made to each other and in implementing projects.
However, they should step up efforts to fulfil all of them by no later than 2025, as requested by the Council Recommendation of 16 November 2021 regarding the sequencing of the fulfilment of the more binding commitments, and as reiterated in the Strategic Compass.
Furthermore, the Council underlines that the pMS:
(a) have continued increasing their defence expenditure and indicated plans for further increases in 2022 and in the 2023-25 period, also in reaction to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
This positive trend in defence expenditure and defence investment should be maintained in the long term, while a majority of pMS should also substantially increase defence research and technology expenditure to reach the agreed 2 % of total defence spending (collective benchmark).
In this regard, available EU tools and structures, including the newly established Hub for European Defence Innovation within the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the EU Defence Innovation Scheme within the Commission should be fully considered, harnessing their potential;
(b) have demonstrated little progress regarding the commitment to increase the number of collaborative defence capability projects and related investment in defence equipment procurement and defence research and technology.
To address the EU Capability Development Priorities and to achieve the agreed collective benchmarks (20 % of total collaborative defence research and technology expenditure, 35 % of total collaborative defence equipment procurement expenditure) the pMS should make the best possible use of existing EU defence initiatives and tools, and should further increase and leverage collaborative defence investment at the EU level (6).
In this respect, they are encouraged to make full use of the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) findings and its recommendations, notably the collaborative opportunities and Focus Areas.
Taking the Strategic Compass into account, they are also invited to take new opportunities forward in the PESCO framework, such as fostering joint procurement, including in the follow-up to the Joint Communication on DIGA;
(c) have overall maintained or slightly increased their contribution to military Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations, but gaps still persist and should be filled urgently.
PMS should significantly enhance their efforts to fulfil the operational commitments, taking into account the single set of forces principle, as contributions to missions and operations are still of concern.
PMS should step up their contributions to the EU Battlegroups roster and to the Rapid Response Database.
Moreover, they should address more specifically strategic capability shortfalls, namely the High Impact Capability Goals.
In addition, pMS should provide concrete proposals to improve common funding of CSDP missions and operations, also in the context of the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC), including through a re-assessment of the scope and definition of common costs to enhance solidarity and stimulate participation in military missions and operations as well as in exercise-related costs.
The work on the definition of the parameters of a fair share of contributions to military missions and operations, as requested in the Council Recommendation of 16 November 2021 concerning the sequencing of the fulfilment of the more binding commitments, should be finalised as soon as possible.
This is important to encourage and support pMS to increase their contributions, within their means and capabilities, to CSDP missions and operations, ensuring transparency among them on the fulfilment of their respective commitments; (6) As stated in the Joint Communication on DIGA, the share of collaborative defence equipment procurement has decreased on average from 11 % in 2020 to around 8 % in 2021, while combined defence Research and Technology spending amounted to 1,2 % of total defence spending in 2020.