Putting the Core at the Centre. The Crisis Response Operation Core (CROC) and the Future of PESCO
The reader who cannot readily identify the meaning of CROC (Croque Monsieur? Croque Madame?) in the context of European defence can be forgiven.
The flurry of activity in the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) since 2016 has generated a host of new acronyms (PESCO, CARD, EDF…), of which the CROC, the Crisis Response Operation Core, certainly is among the least known. It deserves more attention however, for it ought to be at the centre of efforts to take Permanent Structured Cooperation forward.
(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, Bundeswehr Modes)