PRAGUE, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government approved on Wednesday the country's joining of preparations of the European Union (EU)'s proposed Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), said Czech State Secretary for European Affairs Ales Chmelar.
Chmelar said the government also gave a mandate to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka for the next EU summit that to be held on Oct. 19 and 20 in Brussels. He said that "we have announced our interest in participating in this effort."
He described it as an instrument to enable states to create very specific projects in defense policy, for example, to protect borders and resolve conflicts by peaceful forces.
Chmelar said that it is a certain framework within which one can interconnect military and financial capacities so that Europe could proceed in a unified way, and it is to help create specific projects within joint European defense.
PESCO will be formally activated at the European Council in December 2017.
