The Treaty of Lisbon was ratified in 2010 and its implementation has already had some impact in certain fields, notably in that of EU foreign affairs with the creation of the European External Action Service under the authority of the High Representative. However, the same cannot be said, at least for the time being, as far as Article 42-6 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) is concerned; this introduces permanent structured cooperation (PSC) in the security and defence fields. In official circles and on the ever-changing political scene, a certain reticence, even doubt, has emerged concerning the advantages of this provision of the Treaty; so far this has delayed implementation of the potential for cooperation thus offered.

However, it will not have escaped politicians’ notice that Article 42-6 of the TEU, along with the articles to the treaty and the protocols that expand on it, opens up new prospects for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It is now nearly a decade since that concept was first outlined at the conference presided over by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 2002. It was then formalised in the draft Constitution that was rejected in 2005, and finally endorsed in the Lisbon treaty. This cooperative arrangement was described in Revue Défense Nationale in an article published as long ago as May 2005. The concept may not be new but it is still an attractive one. The fact that it weathered the many political twists and turns that preceded the ratification of the Lisbon treaty is a point in its favour and a clear indication of the soundness of the arrangements it proposes.

What does Article 42-6 of the TEU actually say? ‘Those Member States whose military capabilities fulfil higher criteria and which have made more binding commitments to one another in this area with a view to the most demanding missions shall establish permanent structured cooperation within the Union framework . . .’ In both the spirit and letter of the treaty this involves augmenting the defence and security capabilities of member states by means of a permanent structured arrangement that would enable them to undertake the most demanding tasks. The aim is to move forward with the EU’s CSDP, addressing not only its operational effectiveness but also the defence equipment and industrial capabilities of EU nations. An in-depth analysis of the various paragraphs of the Treaty that relate to it reveals that it concerns a single arrangement: there is only one PSC, specific to the security and defence field. In parallel, the Treaty makes provision for other potential cooperation options—enhanced conventional collaborative arrangements—that apply to the defence field as well as to all other areas, but which amount to targeted and specific opportunities for cooperation. It must not be forgotten that in order to implement such enhanced collaborative projects, the Treaty demands a minimum number of participating nations—nine in the current state of the European Union—whereas for PSC, the number of participating nations is undefined.