Daniel Fiott discusses PESCO with the Political and Security Committee

On 13 October 2020, Daniel Fiott was invited as a guest of honour to the EU's Political and Security Committee (PSC) for a lunchtime debate about Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). The meeting was hosted by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Deputy Secretary General for the Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response, Ambassador Charles Fries, also provided remarks. Fiott looked at the past three years of PESCO and gave a candid assessment of the positive and more challenging aspects of EU security and defence cooperation. Looking to the future and the forthcoming PESCO Strategic Review, Fiott warned of the risks of turning PESCO into a technical endeavour without political vision and that the binding commitments must be a priority. The lunch was introduced by Germany's representative to the PSC, Ambassador Thomas Ossowski, and moderated by the PSC Chair, Ambassador Sofie From-Emmesberger.