CMS conference on European security and defence policy
How should Europe respond to rising strategic competition, an evolving transatlantic relationship, and intensifying challenges in its southern neighbourhoods? These pressing questions were discussed on Monday 16 June at the conference Towards a Defence Union? European Security and Defence Policy in the Trump Era. The conference was hosted by the Centre for Military Studies in collaboration with the “Denmark in the Chair” programme at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. It brought together leading experts and officials to examine how the EU can strengthen its defence capabilities and navigate a more uncertain geopolitical landscape.
The conference was opened with remarks from Niels Byrjalsen, postdoc at the Centre for Military Studies. He highlighted the extent and speed of the ongoing changes in European security and defence policy. The developments create a new playing field and momentum, but also new challenges for Europe, the EU, and NATO. Both possibilities and challenges are vital to address during Denmark’s upcoming EU presidency.
In the first panel, Jean-Pierre van Aubel (European External Action Service), Øyvind Svendsen (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs), Kristian Søby Kristensen (Royal Danish Defence College), and Andreas Reckeweg Godfrey (Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) discussed Europe’s push for strategic autonomy and the development of a competitive defence industry. The discussion highlighted the new opportunities that emerge from a fundamental shift in how European countries approach the need for common industrial policies as well as the close relationship between the EU, the UK, and Ukraine, but also underscored that diverging national interests and transatlantic disagreements remain major obstacles for cooperation. The panel was moderated by Tobias Liebetrau, researcher at the Centre for Military Studies.
The second panel turned to security challenges in Africa and the Middle East. Ana Santos Pinto (NOVA University Lisbon), Emanuela C. Del Re (Professor, former EU Special Representative for the Sahel), Birgitte Markussen (Danish Special Representative for the Great Lakes and the Sahel), Jacob Ashrifie (Defence Attaché at the Embassy of Ghana to the Kingdom of Denmark), and Troy Van Zummeren (Lieutenant Colonel, USAFRICOM) explored European engagement in Europe’s southern neighbourhoods. The discussion highlighted the potentials and limitations of European security and defence instruments in a rapidly evolving regional context. The panel was moderated by Katja Lindskov Jacobsen, interim director and senior researcher at the Centre for Military Studies.
