Article 6 Termination or suspension of the participation of a third State in a PESCO project
1. If a third State participating in a PESCO project has communicated to the project members its decision to terminate its participation, such termination shall take effect once the project members and that third State have reached agreement on the conditions under which the termination will take place.
Where the participation of a third State in a PESCO project is terminated, the coordinator or coordinators of the project, with the support of the PESCO Secretariat, shall inform the Council and the High Representative accordingly.
2. The project members may agree either during or outside the regular review referred to in Article 5 that the participation of a third State in a project should be reassessed. In such a case, that third State shall be informed by the project coordinator or coordinators.
If the project members decide to suspend the participation of a third State in a PESCO project, the coordinator or coordinators of the project with the support of the PESCO Secretariat, shall notify the Council and the High Representative accordingly. Based on this notification and following an opinion by the Political and Security Committee, the Council may decide in accordance with Article 46(6) TEU and Article 9(2) of Decision (CFSP) 2017/2315 to terminate the participation of the third State in the project.
3. If one or several Member States consider that a third State’s participation in a PESCO project no longer meets the general conditions set out in Article 3 of this Decision, they may refer the issue to the Council. In such case, consultations shall take place between the Member States concerned, namely the project members and the referring Member State or Member States, facilitated by the High Representative. In the framework of those consultations, during which the views of the third State may also be heard, the Member State or Member States having referred the issue to the Council shall provide the High Representative with all necessary information in written form, substantiating the reasons for such referral, and shall indicate to the High Representative what measures could be taken to mitigate the issue. The High Representative and the Member States concerned shall examine together the issue and seek adequate solutions within a period of two months. If, following the completion of the consultations, the Member State or Member States having referred the issue to the Council still consider that the third State’s participation in the PESCO project no longer meets the conditions set out in Article 3 of this Decision, they may request that the Council examine the issue. In such a case, the Member States concerned shall provide the Council with all relevant information. On that basis, the Council, acting in accordance with Article 46(6) TEU, shall discuss and decide on the continuation of the third State’s participation.
4. The administrative arrangements referred to in Article 2(6) shall determine the conditions under which a third State may terminate its participation in a PESCO project and the conditions under which the project members may decide to suspend the participation of a third State in a PESCO project. Such arrangements shall determine in particular the rights and obligations of, respectively, the project members and the third State whose participation is terminated either by that third State or by the Council or suspended by the project members, including with regard to the financial aspects of such termination or suspension, taxes, intellectual property and other elements relevant for the termination or suspension.