PESCO Portugal and Spain — Iberian participation in EU defence cooperation

What PESCO is — framework, not funding

Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is an EU defence-cooperation framework established under Article 42(6) and 46 of the Treaty on European Union. PESCO binds participating Member States — currently 26 of the 27 EU Member States (Denmark and Malta have non-participation status; Denmark joined in 2023) — to specific defence-cooperation commitments and to participation in joint capability-development projects.

PESCO is structurally a framework, not a funding mechanism. PESCO does not directly disburse funding to projects. Instead, PESCO projects can attract funding through complementary mechanisms — most importantly, the European Defence Fund (EDF) — and through national Member-State contributions. The relationship between PESCO and EDF is symbiotic but distinct.

For Nordic and Baltic SME suppliers, PESCO matters because:

• PESCO project lines define EU-aligned capability priorities, which signals where future EDF funding and national procurement will concentrate
• PESCO project participation is a high-credibility positioning signal for Iberian armed-forces procurement officers evaluating European-supplier capability
• PESCO project consortia are pre-formed Iberian-Nordic-Baltic partnership structures that NSHQ Defence can leverage

Portuguese participation in PESCO

Portugal participates in a substantial subset of PESCO project lines, with both project-lead and project-member roles. Portuguese participation reflects national capability priorities: maritime surveillance, ISR, communications, cyber and joint-force capability.

Portuguese PESCO lead projects

Portugal leads or co-leads multiple PESCO project lines. Examples include:

• Maritime (semi-)Autonomous Systems for Mine Counter-Measures (MAS MCM) — Portugal as participating member with significant Marinha-aligned interest
• European Logistic Hubs — Portuguese participation reflecting Atlantic-logistics positioning
• Cyber Threats and Incident Response Information Sharing Platform (CTIRISP) — Portugal participating
• Maritime Surveillance / Patrol projects — multiple lines with Portuguese participation

Portuguese PESCO member-participation projects

Portugal participates as member in multiple additional project lines covering counter-drone, ISR, joint-force capability, and supporting categories. Specific project lists are updated annually as the PESCO project portfolio evolves; NSHQ Defence tracks current Portuguese participation status in the Brief.

Portuguese institutional touchpoints

Portuguese PESCO coordination runs through the Direção-Geral de Política de Defesa Nacional (DGPDN) within the Ministério da Defesa Nacional. DGPDN coordinates Portuguese participation across all PESCO projects and supports inbound consortium-partner inquiries for Portugal-led or Portugal-member projects.

Spanish participation in PESCO

Spain is one of the most active PESCO participating Member States, with project-lead roles across multiple capability categories. Spanish participation reflects the country's broader European defence-industrial positioning.

Spanish PESCO lead projects

Spain leads PESCO projects across several capability categories, including but not limited to:

• Maritime (semi-)Autonomous Systems for Mine Counter-Measures (MAS MCM) — Spanish lead with multiple participating Member States
• Maritime Surveillance projects — Spanish leadership in several maritime-surveillance project lines
• Counter-UAS capability projects — Spanish participation including lead-role projects
• EU-funded research-and-development project leadership — multiple Spanish-led EDF-aligned PESCO projects

Spanish PESCO member-participation projects

Spain participates as member in a very high count of PESCO project lines covering ISR, communications, cyber, joint-force capability, training-and-simulation, and supporting categories.

Spanish institutional touchpoints

Spanish PESCO coordination runs through the Secretaría General de Política de Defensa (SEGENPOL) within the Ministerio de Defensa, with operational coordination supported by DGAM and INTA depending on project specifics.

Nordic and Baltic PESCO participation — natural partners for Iberian projects

Estonian participation

Estonia leads or co-leads multiple PESCO projects, with particular strength in cyber-defence and information-warfare project lines. Estonian PESCO leadership in cyber categories aligns directly with NSHQ Defence supplier capability (CybExer Technologies, Cybernetica).

Finnish participation

Finland joined PESCO in 2023 (post-NATO accession adjacent timing). Finnish participation reflects national capability priorities including air defence, ISR and Arctic-related capability development.

Swedish participation

Sweden participates in PESCO with substantial industrial-base alignment. Swedish PESCO lead projects include several maritime, air-defence and ground-systems capability lines.

Danish participation

Denmark joined PESCO in 2023 following the 2022 referendum to end the Danish EU defence opt-out. Danish participation is in build-up phase as of 2026.

Norwegian PESCO status

Norway is not an EU Member State and therefore not a primary PESCO participant. Norway can participate in specific PESCO projects under third-country participation arrangements, which are case-by-case agreements with the participating Member States and the Council.

Natural Nordic-Baltic + Iberian PESCO consortia

The natural consortium-formation pattern: Estonian PESCO leadership in cyber + Portuguese and Spanish member participation; Spanish PESCO leadership in maritime + Estonian and Finnish member participation; cross-category project lines combining Nordic-Baltic technical SMEs with Iberian institutional and industrial partners.

PESCO project categories with strongest Iberian-Nordic-Baltic fit

Maritime autonomous systems

Maritime-autonomous-systems PESCO projects align directly with Spanish leadership (MAS MCM and adjacent projects) and Portuguese maritime priorities (NRP D. João II programme adjacencies). Nordic-Baltic SME participation: Threod Systems, Eli, KrattWorks, CAFA Tech all have direct technical fit for maritime-ISR and maritime-autonomous-systems project lines.

Counter-UAS capability

Counter-UAS PESCO projects align with broad Iberian armed-forces priorities. Nordic-Baltic SME participation: Sensofusion (detection), MyDefence (tactical jamming), Frankenburg Technologies (kinetic interception). Iberian partners typically include Indra (Spain) and INESC TEC (Portugal).

Cyber defence and information warfare

Cyber PESCO projects align with Estonian leadership and Iberian member participation. Nordic-Baltic SME participation: CybExer Technologies, Cybernetica. Iberian partners: GMV (Spain, cyber), Critical Software (Portugal, defence-cyber).

Soldier-modernisation projects

Soldier-modernisation PESCO project lines align with the Portuguese Sistema do Combatiente and Spanish Sistema del Combatiente programmes. Nordic-Baltic SME participation: Senop, SAFE4U Sweden, MyDefence, Bittium.

ISR and intelligence

ISR PESCO project lines align with Iberian armed-forces tactical-ISR and border-surveillance priorities. Nordic-Baltic SME participation: Threod, KrattWorks, Eli, Defendec, Exensor Technology.

Engagement pathway — from PESCO project to Iberian procurement

The practical engagement pathway for Nordic-Baltic SME suppliers entering PESCO-related Iberian procurement:

Step 1 — Identify relevant PESCO project lines

NSHQ Defence maps Nordic-Baltic supplier capability against current PESCO project portfolio. Project lines with Iberian lead or substantial Iberian member participation are the high-priority targets.

Step 2 — Engage Iberian project-coordination touchpoints

For Portuguese-participated projects, engage DGPDN. For Spanish-participated projects, engage SEGENPOL or the relevant project-lead Spanish entity (Indra, Navantia, etc.). NSHQ Defence supports introduction and capability-presentation work.

Step 3 — Form or join project consortia

PESCO project consortia are formed around the project lead and member Member States. Nordic-Baltic SME participation typically operates through national-government endorsement (the SME's home Member State supports inclusion in the project consortium). NSHQ Defence supports the Iberian-side endorsement work.

Step 4 — Pursue EDF funding for project execution

Once a PESCO project consortium is established, EDF funding applications are the primary mechanism for project execution. See the EDF Iberian-Nordic-Baltic guide for the funding-application pathway.

Step 5 — Convert project execution into procurement

Post-project commercialisation runs through Iberian armed-forces procurement vehicles. NSHQ Defence's channel work supports the procurement-engagement sequence from project demonstration through to formal-procurement award.