PESCO PROJECTS: FEATURES OF IMPLEMENTATION IN THE LIGHT OF THE FULL-SCALE PHASEOF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR

Abstract

It is analyzed how the full-scale Russian military aggression against Ukraine in 2022, which became an exogenous threat to the EU, intensified the need for security integration and cooperation of its Member States, including the streng- thening of PESCO and the interaction and coordination of the EU actions with NATO. The following aspects of the transformation of PESCO’s security pri- orities, taking into account the exogenous impact of the full-scale stage of the Russian-Ukrainian war on it, have been highlighted: organizational, financial and functional. From an organizational point of view, it has been noted that Denmark joined the European Defense Agency (EDA) and PESCO; Malta is considering joining this initiative. From a financial point of view the most visible reaction to the war in Ukraine is the EU Member States' reassessment of their defence capabilities, the growth of their investments in military modernization, reflected in the obligation of States to increase their defence expenditures to strengthen the armed forces, purchase the newest weapons and increase the opportunities to participate in cyber and hybrid warfare to counter potential adversaries. It is emphasized that the increase in the defense budgets of the EU Member States should be combined with growing cooperation for the acquisition and/or deve- lopment of new security and defense capabilities and overcoming inconsistencies and fragmentation of interests in decision-making taking into account their me- dium and long-term impact on the EU defense landscape. From a functional point of view, the project dimension of PESCO has been clarified. It was emphasized that the fifth wave of projects was approved on May 23, 2023: 11 of them were approved, 3 were closed, 68 projects are being implemented. Challenges on the way to the implementation of projects within PESCO are singled out: leadership and sectoral orientation of certain Member States on individual projects, incon- sistency of defence budgets of Member States and fragmentation during their formation, initiation of similar projects by them outside PESCO, slowness of project implementation, etc. It was noted that in light of Russia’s full-scale inva- sion of Ukraine, PESCO projects are acquiring an operational dimension, which is confirmed by the launch of new projects and the successful development of several existing ones. Therefore, PESCO is valuable in the event of the military crisis, as it improves the speed of joint response of the EU to it.