PESCO – ON THE WAY TO A EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION OR ANOTHER DEAD END?

Povzetek Članek skuša predstaviti relativno celovit pregled dejavnikov, ki so pripeljali do Stalnega strukturnega sodelovanja, dejanski politični postopek, vključno s pravnimi določili, ki so omogočili notifikacijo v EU in v Sloveniji ter pogoji, ki bodo morali biti izpolnjeni, da bo PESCO uspešen. Decembra 2017 so članice EU, po več kot šestih desetletjih usklajevanja in dogovarjanja, naredile korak naprej in aktivirale manj vidne člene Lizbonske pogodbe ter s tem vzpostavile strukturno sodelovanje na obrambnem področju. Glavni namen PESCA je nadaljnja integracija in poglobitev sodelovanja na varnostnem in obrambnem področju. S priključitvijo PESCU so države članice potrdile svojo pravno zavezujočo odločitev da bodo izboljšale učinkovitost na področju koordinacije in sodelovanja, obrambnih investicij, izgradnje zmogljivosti in operativne pripravljenosti. Ključni dejavniki, ki bodo prispevali k uspešnosti PESCA so ohranjanje obrambnih in varnostnih vprašanj visoko na evropski politični agendi in izpolnjevanje prevzetih obveznosti. Ključne besede: Stalno strukturno sodelovanje, Evropska unija, Slovenija, obrambna industrija, obrambni proračuni Abstract This article aims at providing the reader with a fairly comprehensive overview of the conditions that had lead to PESCO, actual political process, including legal provisions, of getting PESCO notified in the EU and in the Republic of Slovenia. Also, the authors analyse conditions that need to be met for PESCO to be successful. Ever since the Second World War, the European Community has been struggling to form closer ties in the area of defence. One of the major breakthroughs took place in December 2017 when Member States activated one of the less publicized articles of the Lisbon Treaty and established a permanent structure in the area of defence. The main purpose of PESCO is further integration and strengthening of cooperation in the field of security and defence. By joining PESCO, Member States have confirmed their legally binding commitment to improve efficiency in regard to coordination and cooperation, military investment, capability development and operational readiness. For PESCO to be successful, it is crucial that the EU keeps defence issues at the top of the European political agenda as well as that Member States carry out their commitments. Key Words: Permanent Structured Cooperation, European Union, Slovenia, Defence Industry, Defence Budget