As the initiative transitions into its next stage, it is a moment to look back on the progress and outcomes achieved during the initial phase between 2017 and 2025: a period defined by sustained increases in defence spending and investment, a pronounced reorientation toward high-intensity warfare readiness, the maturation of collaborative projects into enduring multinational entities, and measurable steps toward strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. Taken together, these developments reflect a framework that has moved from institution-building toward tangible delivery, and a set of participating Member States better equipped to carry that momentum into the decade ahead.
PESCO’s initial phase shows growing EU defence cooperation
During the initial phase of PESCO, the participating Member States made notable progress in implementing the agreed binding commitments, contributing to the European Union’s strategic autonomy and enhanced capacity to act.
The substantial increase in European defence spending over the initial phase of PESCO was accompanied by a widespread redirection of expenditure toward investment. By 2025, the overwhelming majority of participating Member States fulfilled the commitments on regularly increasing defence budgets, as well as reaching the collective 20% benchmark for investment. Moving forward, the increase in defence spending must be complemented with a balanced distribution of budgets that accounts not only for the development and acquisition of new systems but also for their operation and maintenance.
In line with the commitment to ensure the availability of necessary capabilities, and against the backdrop of a deteriorating security environment, many participating Member States have reoriented acquisition strategies toward capabilities necessary for high-intensity warfare. Additionally, the initial phase has shown that EU defence initiatives and tools have come to serve as increasingly relevant references for national planning and for mobilising capital for joint research and development. Simultaneously, more effort is needed to nurture a European cooperative dimension that supplements and multiplies national efforts in developing necessary capabilities.
The participating Member States have proved sustained engagement with PESCO projects aimed at delivering concrete capabilities and enhancing operational readiness. Some projects are nearing completion and will continue as permanent multinational entities, among them the Cyber and Information Domain Coordination Center (CIDCC) and the Network of Logistic Hubs in Europe and Support to Operations (NetLogHubs), thereby contributing to the objective of joint use of capabilities.
Finally, the participating Member States have further reported measures to strengthen the European defence industry, with consistent progress recorded against commitments related to the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). These include steps to strengthen industrial cooperation and build closer government-industry partnerships.
What comes next?
The second phase of PESCO begins with a framework that is considerably more tested than the one launched in 2017, and in a security climate that leaves little room for delay or inefficiencies. Participating Member States are better placed than ever to turn cooperation into concrete results. Some are already using PESCO projects to develop capabilities recognised as strategically critical. Bringing such projects into closer alignment with broader European defence readiness efforts has the potential to be mutually reinforcing, with each strengthening the other.
Looking ahead, PESCO projects should make fuller use of EU defence planning tools, funding mechanisms, and the industrial momentum built over the past eight years, embodying a genuinely strategic, pan-European outlook while remaining firmly under the direction of Member States. The framework will continue to reflect the needs of all participating Member States and the realities of an increasingly complex international environment. At the same time, greater efforts will be needed to bring Ukraine’s defence industry progressively closer to its European counterparts, a step that matters not only for Ukraine, but for the long-term resilience of European defence as a whole.