Following their request, Canada, Norway, and the U.S. will be the first third states to be invited to participate in a Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project, in particular the Military Mobility project (MM). Their expertise will improve military mobility within and beyond the E.U. and contribute to strengthening European security. According to analysts, much can change for Europe’s security, as the PESCO Military Mobility project provides excellent motives for U.S. participation and holds a symbolic value; recognizing the importance of European defense and committing to comply with a series of legal and political requirements.

Two decades after a previous attempt, fourteen E.U. countries have proposed establishing a rapid military response force capable of intervening early in international crises. According to the countries, the bloc should develop a brigade of 5,000 soldiers, possibly accompanied by ships and aircrafts, to support democratic foreign governments in need of immediate assistance.

On the 6th of May, the heads of the European and French cybersecurity agencies called for greater cooperation among E.U. countries and additional resources, indicating significantly increased cybersecurity spending in the United States.

The European Commission complemented the E.U. Vaccines Strategy with a Strategy on COVID-19 therapeutics to support their development and availability. The Strategy incorporates the full lifecycle of medicines and constitutes a part of the European Health Union. Many European countries distanced themselves from a proposal upheld by U.S. President Joe Biden to waive patent rights on coronavirus vaccines, arguing that the answer to ending the COVID-19 pandemic was producing and sharing vaccines more quickly. In that context, the European Commission called on the United States and other major COVID-19 vaccine producers to export what they make as the European Union does, rather than talk about waiving intellectual property rights to the shots.

After months of disputes following Brexit, the E.U. reached an agreement with the U.K. on an Establishment Agreement for the E.U. Delegation, granting the E.U. representative to the U.K. the same diplomatic status as ambassadors in the country.

During this week’s G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, China was at the top of the agenda as G7 Foreign Ministers discussed human rights issues and the protection of democracy. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated that his G7 counterparts had reached an agreement on the best way to confront China.