BRUSSELS - European Union (EU) defense ministers on Tuesday adopted a roadmap for the implementation of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) at a meeting.

According to an EU statement, the roadmap provides strategic direction and guidance on how to structure further work on both processes and governance, including for projects and in relation to the sequencing of the fulfillment of commitments.

It also provides a timeline for agreement on possible future projects.

A total of 25 EU member states agreed to politically participate in PESCO and formally established the initial list of 17 collaborative projects in December 2017.

The projects cover areas such as training, capability development and operational readiness in the field of defense.

The PESCO pact will allow participating member states to pursue greater cooperation on matters of defense and security.