Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The PESCO commitments will include a regular increase in defence budgets in real terms, collective benchmarks such as an increase in defence investment expenditure to 20% of total defence spending and 2% of total defence spending allocated to research and technology. The benchmarks are for the EU as a whole rather than for individual member states; increased co-operation in cyber defence; develop a database of available and deployable capabilities such as what we do currently with the United Nations; participate in at least one project under PESCO; and use the European Defence Agency, EDA, as a forum for joint capability development.

As the Deputy stated, there are 17 projects that range from the European medical command, European secure software defined radio, the network of logistic hubs, military mobility, the European Union Training Mission Competence Centre, the European training certification centre for European armies, the energy operational function, the deployable military disaster relief capabilities package, the maritime systems for mine counter measures, harbour and marine surveillance and protection, upgrade of maritime surveillance, cyber threats, cyber rapid response, strategic command and control, armoured infantry fighting vehicles, indirect fire support and crisis response agencies. We are signed up to two of those projects already, namely, the European agency on training mission competence and the upgrade of maritime surveillance.

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