Interaction between CARD PESCO and the EDF

A series of cooperative mechanisms – the coordinated annual review on defence (CARD), PESCO, and the EDF – were introduced since 2016, with the aim of enabling EU Member States to jointly identify defence capability shortages and, subsequently, to develop new ones. Their interaction is presented in Figure 7. Their introduction has boosted the secretarial role of the European Defence Agency (EDA), without substantively increasing its resources (financial or manpower). It has also led to the creation in the von der Leyen Commission of the Directorate-General for Industry and Space, as part of the Internal Market portfolio of Commissioner Thierry Breton.