Germany is the lead country on the crisis response project, but it has an ultimate link with Macron's idea to create an intervention force | Etienne Laurent/EPA EU unveils military pact projects France and Germany have been driving forces behind push for greater defense cooperation.

French President Emmanuel Macron took a major step toward his grand plan of a European military intervention force.

EU foreign ministers unveiled on Monday a list of projects they want to form part of a new military pact, of which France has been the driving force alongside Germany.

The list, as reported by POLITICO ahead of the official announcement, contains 17 projects covering areas such as training, capability development and operational readiness.

An essential element of the pact is that it promotes a two-speed approach, in that only groups of member countries support certain projects. For example, a European Medical Command has been pushed by Germany with the support of the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Romania, Sweden and Slovakia.

The project that has the most support is a Dutch plan for increased military mobility. Twenty-one other countries back the idea and the Commission has already put forward a proposal.

Also on the list is a “crisis response operation core,” which is described by diplomats as a project to “pre-identify forces that you could deploy in case of need.”

Diplomats have long been concerned about the tension between Germany and France

According to the list, Germany is the lead country on the crisis response project, but “it's a game between the French and the Germans," said a diplomat closely involved in the discussions. "It's actually more of a French thing and it has an ultimate link with Macron's idea to create an intervention force.”

“French officials are using it as an example of what Pesco [as the military pact is known in EU jargon] is about,” another diplomat said.

History can wait

Last month, 23 EU countries said they would take part in Pesco, with Federica Mogherini, the EU's top diplomat, hailing it an “historic” moment for the Continent.

But many diplomats disagree. “It will take many years, probably 10, to see whether it has really worked,” said a senior diplomat from one of the founding EU countries.

Two countries, Ireland and Portugal, have signed up since Pesco's launch, meaning the only holdouts are the U.K., Denmark and Malta.

Participating members have agreed on a list of commitments, which include "increasing the share of expenditure allocated to defense research and technology” and “regularly increasing defense budgets in real terms.”

More than 50 projects were put forward. This was cut down to 17 by national defense policy directors and the European Defense Agency.

Smaller states' fears

Diplomats have long been concerned about the tension between Germany, which wanted a more inclusive approach, and France, which wanted it to be more ambitious and operational. “The list of projects [selected] shows that we have found a balance,” said one of the diplomats.

A fear in some Central European countries and in the Baltics was that Pesco would remain under the control of Western countries — and of the 17 projects, four are led by Germany, four by Italy and two by France.

However, the list also shows that Poland will take part in two projects (military mobility and radio interoperability) and that Lithuania is the leading country in a “cyber rapid response team.”

"As cyber threats transcend national borders, so must our response" — Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė

“Cyber security became a vital issue for international security. As cyber threats transcend national borders, so must our response,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė told POLITICO.

Part of the interest in the project comes from its financial support. Earlier this year, the European Commission launched a major financial incentive for countries to cooperate on defense procurement, setting up a European Defense fund worth €5.5 billion per year.

Yet its future remains linked to Macron and wider European reforms. “Prior to the elections, there was a rather binary vision that some bargain on defense and economy could be found between France and Germany with Germany agreeing to do more on defense and France agreeing to internal reforms,” said Rosa Balfour, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank.

“Macron then won and went forward with internal reforms and proposing more far-reaching eurozone reform than [was to] Germany’s liking and agreeing to Pesco as Germany wanted,” she added.