Paneuropa Austria welcomes new EU defence union PESCO
Paneuropa Austria welcomes new EU defence union PESCO
In the face of new external threats, a common European defence and security strategy is essential!
On Monday, the foreign and defence ministers of 23 EU states, including Austria, signed the European Union’s new security and defence strategy, known as PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation).
Karl von Habsburg, President of the Paneuropa Movement Austria, welcomes the move: “Security and defence is a task that must be addressed at the European level.”
Europe’s security is confronted with new challenges, such as cyberattacks, hybrid warfare, or online disinformation campaigns, but also genuine military threats, as the war in eastern Ukraine demonstrates.
“US policy and Russia’s attack on sovereign Ukraine now offer Europe the chance to take charge of its own security,” says von Habsburg.
PESCO is not a defence union in the literal sense, but rather bundles national capabilities in the field of security and defence. Austria participates within the framework of neutrality; five states are currently not yet taking part. Combined, all EU states have a higher defence budget than the USA, yet only half the efficiency. Networking is therefore not only politically sensible but also budgetarily sound.
“Attacks on a democratic Europe governed by the rule of law by non-European powers, to whom a free Europe is a thorn in the side, are increasing, especially online,” emphasises Stefan Haböck, International Secretary of the Paneuropa Movement Austria, stressing that “Europe must cooperate more closely here. Because cyberattacks do not stop at national borders!”
