Cooperación Estructurada Permanente (PESCO): Algunas consecuencias para España y la OTAN

Abstract

Permanent Structured Cooperation is a useful tool for achieving the European Union (EU) desired strategic autonomy which would make this international Organization a global actor in contemporary international relations. Beyond the content of the PESCO, which has been analysed in detail by scientific doctrine, it is important to figure out the implications that its activation will have for Spain as well as the effects that it will have on the relation between the EU and the Atlantic Alliance. To this end, it is necessary to examine some aspects of the current international context in which all these actors operate, clarifying the political-normative status of the European strategic autonomy and its categorization as a global power on the international arena. The study of the advantages and disadvantages for Spain of its participation in the PESCO provides elements for knowing, above all, the geopolitical position of our country and the consequences for the national defence industry. The link between the EU and NATO, which has recently been strengthened, does not prevent the EU from acquiring strategic autonomy.
However, cooperation fields’ must be clearly identified.