Europe’s defence in the face of today’s foreign policy challenges

Between strategic autonomy and global security

This conference, organised on the initiative of a group of European research institutes and think tanks, including the European League for Economic Cooperation, Eurispes, the’Jean Monnet Association, the Triffin International Foundation and the Martens Centre, aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the future of European defence by proposing a strategic, institutional and values-based framework for a European defence policy.

Recent geopolitical developments have highlighted both the growing external pressures facing the European Union and its internal structural vulnerabilities, particularly in the areas of decision-making, coordination and global influence. Whilst Member States have stepped up their national defence efforts, the persistence of fragmentation and duplication risks undermining Europe’s effectiveness and credibility as a global player.

The initiative presented at this conference is based on a different premise: European defence should not be seen as a process of rearmament, but as a policy in the service of peace, in line with the founding values of the European project. Its objectives are to strengthen Europe’s ability to speak with one voice by combining defence capabilities with diplomacy, international cooperation and the promotion of a rules-based world order.

With this in mind, the conference will address three key priorities:

• the rationalisation of national defence expenditure and the reduction of inefficiencies through greater integration; ;
• the development of common standards and a coordinated industrial base, capable of ensuring both operational efficiency and economies of scale; ;
• the launch of a new institutional process, drawing on the experience of the «Delors Committee», aimed at setting out a roadmap for a European Union of defence and foreign policy.

Beyond its technical and institutional aspects, this initiative is also part of a broader debate on Europe’s role in the world. Building on the legacy of Aldo Moro and the «spirit of Helsinki», recently recalled in contemporary debates on peace and security, European defence must remain rooted in human rights, dialogue and international cooperation, whilst avoiding the risks of an approach based exclusively on deterrence.
The conference aims to foster an open dialogue between policy-makers, experts, industry representatives and civil society, with a view to developing a shared, forward-looking European vision on peace, security and global responsibility.

Calendar

09.30 – 10.00 :: Opening session

Text:

• Sergio Arzeni, ELEC Board member and former OECD Director
• Sandra Parthie, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
• Javier Arias, International President of ELEC, the European League for Economic Co-operation
• Umberto Triulzi, spokesperson for the organisers of the ThinkTanks Initiative, president of Eurispes’ Europa Lab, Rome, and the Jean Monnet Association

Opening address on European integration for peace, the teachings of Pope Leo and «Magnifica Humanitas» by:

• His Excellency Monsignor Luc Terlinden, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, President of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference

Objective:

• Present the conference as an initiative led by civil society
• Emphasise that European policies, including those relating to defence (EDP), are focused on peace and not on rearmament
• To reiterate the political urgency highlighted in the Draghi report

10.00 – 11.30 :: Session I – From rearmament to peacebuilding and global security: a strategic vision for European defence and foreign policy

:: Central theme: Rethinking European defence as a policy of peace and cooperation, rooted in European values, multilateralism and international law.

:: Key issues:

• The DÉP as an instrument of peace, stability and a rules-based order
• Moving beyond the logic of national rearmament and fragmentation in the name of a common European strategic framework
• Implementation of obligations arising from the Treaty on European Union (Article 42(7) – mutual assistance clause)
• Defence as a pillar of the EU’s future foreign policy, and foreign policy as a pillar of European defence and global security
• Europe as a global player for peace, security and cooperation
• European defence as a stepping stone towards a unified foreign policy aimed at promoting a new world order
• Europe’s global role: diplomacy, mediation, development and cooperation
• The inclusion of key partners who share the same values: Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Norway and possibly others
• Form a coalition of willing countries (a pioneering approach)

:: Moderator: Paul Taylor, European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels

:: Speakers:

• Antonio Villafranca, Vice-President for Research, ISPI, Milan
• Marcin Nowacki, Chair of the TEN Section, EESC, and former Vice-President of the Polish Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers
• Penny Naas, Senior Vice-President of GMF, the German Marshall Fund of the USA, and Head of the Brussels Office: Discussion with participants

:: Aim of the session:

• Laying the normative foundation: Europe is not at war, but must be capable of defending peace
• Make it clear that defence integration strengthens diplomacy and investment, not militarisation
• Linking the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) to European identity and values

11.30 – 13.00 :: Session II – Effectiveness, scope and integration: reforming European defence capabilities

:: Central theme: how to transform fragmented national defence spending into a cost-effective and efficient European defence system

:: Key issues:

• Reducing duplication in national defence spending
• Standardisation: ammunition, data links, cyber security, logistics
• Economies of scale in strategic sectors (drones, missiles, air and naval defence)
• The industrial policy dimension: towards a European defence industry
• Lessons learnt from existing cooperation initiatives (e.g. PESCO, joint procurement)

:: Moderator: Paul Adamson, Encompass Europe

:: Speakers:

• Camille Grand, Secretary General of the European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries (ASD), Brussels
• Ilana Bet-El, Department of War Studies, King’s College, London
• Ali Akinci, Defence and Security Adviser, CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies), Brussels
• Jean-Marc Vigilant, General, Euro Defence France

:: Aim of the session:

• Demonstrate in practical terms how integration helps to reduce costs and increase capacity
• To demonstrate that effectiveness is inextricably linked to political credibility
• Reaching a consensus on common, binding standards

14:00 – 15:30 :: Session III – Governance and strategy: a «Delors Committee» for European defence

:: Central theme: Designing the institutional architecture of a European Union for defence and foreign policy

:: Key issues:

• Proposal for a «Delors Defence Committee» inspired by Jacques Delors
• Terms of reference: a 10-month roadmap for reform, with a medium- and long-term timeframe of 10 years
• Governance: majority voting rather than unanimity (right of veto)
• Shared sovereignty in matters of defence and foreign policy, and the corresponding transfer of powers
• Ukraine’s role in the new architecture

:: Moderator: Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, Jacques Delors Institute and Jean Monnet Institute

:: Speakers:

• Giles Merritt, founder of Friends of Europe and former Financial Times correspondent
• Daniel Fiott, Diplomacy and Strategy, VUB, Brussels
• Bernard Snoy, Chairman, Robert Triffin International (RTI)
  Association, International Honorary President of ELEC
• Federico Reho, Wilfried Martens Centre, Brussels

:: Aim of the session:

• Putting this vision into practice at an institutional level
• Launch a debate on a new regulatory framework
• To mobilise political support for a structured reform process with a clear timetable

15:30 – 17:00 :: Session IV – From defence and foreign policy to economic, social and financial reforms and investment: how to create a secure environment for European citizens

:: Central theme: The integration of defence as a prerequisite for a single EU foreign policy

:: Key issues:

• How to support defence and foreign policy through
• structural reforms and integration across industrial policy, research, technology, space, education and training, savings and investment
• and the capital markets.

Opening address: Pooling private savings to invest in European security, by Giuseppe Fusilli, founding partner and director of Azimut Holding S.p.A., and Rodolfo Errore, member of the investment committee of the Azimut Secure Europe Technology Fund

:: Moderator: Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, Jacques Delors Institute and Jean Monnet Institute

:: Speakers:

• Paolo Garonna, President, Centesimus Annus ProPontefice Foundation (FCAPP)
• Malgorzata Bonikowska, President, Centre for International Relations, Warsaw
• Olivier Vedrine, Director, Jean Monnet Association
• Jan Figel, former EU Commissioner for Education, Culture and Innovation
  

:: Aim of the session:

• Placing EDP within a broader geopolitical context
• To highlight Europe’s role as a global player in peacebuilding, as a dynamic liberal democracy and as an effective and prosperous social market economy
• Building political momentum for a common foreign policy through investment and reform

17:00 – 17:30 :: Closing session

A message from Patrick Collison, co-chair of the «Rhine Group» think tank and CEO of Stripe (to be confirmed)
and Javier Arias and Paolo Garonna, ELEC

Launch of:

• A joint statement by the participating institutions
• A proposal to set up the «Delors Committee for Defence»
• A roadmap and follow-up meetings