Brave new world: Building Europe’s capacities for defence R&D

The geopolitical landscape has shifted, and Europe’s post-Cold War era of relative peace has ended, ushering in a period of intensified focus on defence and security. Our timely conference will serve as a critical platform to inform EU planning for a new European R&D strategy amidst these challenges. This event will convene senior representatives from EU institutions, national governments, and leading sectors such as aerospace, defence, AI, and cybersecurity.  

The agenda is structured around three  central themes: 

1. The need for a "total security" approach, which acknowledges that modern threats are not only military but also cyber, economic, and infrastructural. This perspective necessitates robust R&D development value chains integrating civilian, dual-use, and military research. The role of a prospective new defence commissioner will be a focal point. 

2. The event will  examine the European defence industrial strategy, and the challenge of balancing sovereignty and autonomy with global technological advancements. Discussions will explore how EU procurement and R&D policies can boost cooperation with international partners. 

3. The conference will address the critical question of financing Europe’s future defence and security R&D agenda moving forward, including the European Defence Fund, Horizon Europe & FP10, Digital Europe and NATO’s DIANA programme  A key related topic will be to gather industry recommendations on how to increase pre-competitive collaboration in defence and security R&D.