Arriving at a summit in Brussels, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini hailed a “historic decision that turns the European Union into a credible security provider, globally,” saying that the EU is already contemplating “the possibility of deploying one of our battlegroups in one of the crisis theaters.”

"For many years the strongest argument against PESCO had been the fear that it would lead to the weakening of NATO. But it is quite the opposite - strong European defense naturally strengthens NATO," said EU President Donald Tusk. "This is why PESCO is not only good news for us, but it is also good news for our allies and bad news for our enemies," he added, before heading to the leaders’ group photo call and signing ceremony.

While European officials have refrained from referring to the future force as an EU army, mentioning only a series of 17 projects – such as a Cyber Rapid Response Team and a European Medical Command – EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker did not conceal that the EU is aiming to create an independent military structure of its own. “EU Member States have woken up the Sleeping Beauty of the Lisbon Treaty - today we take a giant leap towards the real Defence Union I have long called for.”