Milestone or Maelstrom? European Defence and the 2015 Summit

15 Jul 2015 15:00
15 Jul 2015 18:00

Milestone or Maelstrom? European Defence and the 2015 Summit

The Institute for European Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Egmont - Royal Institute for International Relations and European Geostrategy organised a Roundtable on Wednesday 15 July 2015, 15:00-18:00, entitled: "Milestone or Maelstrom? European Defence and the 2015 Summit".

Given the Ukraine crisis, Russia's resurgence and the burning crises in the South there has never been a more opportune time to discuss European defence. Yet in the face of such challenges, how do we assess the recent European Council summit on defence? Does the Council meeting represent another milestone on the path to closer defence cooperation between EU member states, or did the meeting reflect the difficulties involved in forging a truly common defence policy? Drawing on a collection of thirty-four thought-provoking essays that were published in May by the Egmont Institute, European Geostrategy and the Institute for European Studies, this roundtable discussed the summit conclusions and critically analysed the way forward.

Programme

14:50 Welcome
  • Daniel Fiott, Researcher, Institute for European Studies
15:00 Keynote Speech
  • Amb. Pierre Vimont, Senior Associate Fellow, Carnegie Europe
15:15 Roundtable I: "Institutional Views"
  • (Chair) Sven Biscop, Director Europe in the World Programme, Egmont Institute
  • James Copping, Policy Officer DG GROW, European Commission
  • Lt. Col. Caimin Keogh, Action Officer Concepts Branch, EU Military Staff/EEAS
  • Arnaud Migoux, Counsellor, French Permanent Representation to the EU
  • Graham Muir, Head Strategy and Planning Unit, European Defence Agency
16:30 Roundtable II: "Think Tank Views"
  • (Chair) Daniel Fiott, Researcher, Institute for European Studies
  • Brig. Gen. Jo Coelmont, Senior Associate Fellow, Egmont Institute
  • Alexander Mattelaer, Acting Academic Director, Institute for European Studies
  • Vivien Pertusot, Head of Office, IFRI Bruxelles
  • Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute
17:45 Closing Remarks
  • Jorge Domecq, Chief Executive, European Defence Agency

Contact

Daniel Fiott
Researcher
Institute for European Studies
daniel.fiott@vub.ac.be

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Milestone_or_Maelstrom_Report_HQ.pdf1.89 MB