Europe’s Defence in Debate
Mapping the Europe-Wide Discourse on Defence Policy Amid Eroding Transatlantic Relations
Montag, 23.03.2026
| 17:30 Uhr |
Bus Shuttle from Wunstorf train station for travelers by plane, individual shuttles will be organized |
| 18:15 Uhr |
Arrival and Check-in |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Welcome Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
Welcome Adress & Introduction Thomas MÜLLER-FÄRBER, Protestant Academy Loccum |
| 19:40 Uhr |
KICK-OFF PANEL | „Zeitenwende 2.0“? How Europe’s Security is Perceived across the Continent in Times of Growing US-Estrangement Yevhen HLIBOVYTSKY, Director of Frontier Institute and Supervisory board member at Suspilne (Ukrainian public service broadcast), Kyiv Tuomas ISO-MARKKU, Senior Research Fellow, The European Union and Strategic Competition Program, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), Helsinki Helga KALM, Deputy Director and Head of the Foreign Policy Program, International Center for Defence and Security (ICDS), Tallinn Martin LAMMERT, Lieutenant Colonel, Future Analysis Unit, Bundeswehr Planning Office, Berlin |
| 21:00 Uhr |
Informal Get Together |
Dienstag, 24.03.2026
| 08:30 Uhr |
Breakfast |
| 09:30 Uhr |
PLENARY INTERJECTION | What’s in the Polls? Mapping the Topography of the European Defense Discourse Pawel ZERKA, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Vence |
| 10:15 Uhr |
PANEL | 2029 – Or Even Earlier? How is a Potential Westward Aggression by Russia Discussed Across Europe? Julia SOLDATIUK-WESTERVELD, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute, The Hague* Witold RODKIEWICZ, Senior Fellow, Russian Department, Centre for Eastern Stud-ies, Warsaw |
| 11:00 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break (Bistro) |
| 11:15 Uhr |
Discussion continued |
| 11:45 Uhr |
PLENARY INTERJECTION | Christian Peace Ethics Revisited – What do European Churches Say about Defence Policy Dirck ACKERMANN, Protestant Chaplaincy for the Bundeswehr and Co-Author of the Ethics Memorandum of the Evangelical Church in Germany (issued Nov 2025), Berlin |
| 12:30 Uhr |
Lunch |
| 13:20 Uhr |
Sight Seeing Tour Monastery (Meeting Point at the Reception) |
| 15:00 Uhr |
Coffee & Cake Break (at the Dining Hall) |
| 15:30 Uhr |
PLENARY INTERJECTION |Beside and Beyond “Zeitenwende”: What other Se-curity- & Peace-related Issues Are Urgent – Now and in the Future? Lorenzo CONTI, Senior Policy Officer, European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), Brussels Simone WISOTZKI, Project Leader at the Research Department International Security, and Board Member at Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Frankfurt |
| 16:30 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break (Bistro) |
| 16:45 Uhr |
BREAKOUT SESSION (Part 1) | Crucial Issues for Current and Future Public Discourse on Defense Policy in Europe |
| - |
Forum 1 | Conscription Reloaded: How is Military Service Debated in European Societies? Andrea ELLNER, Senior Lecturer in Civil-Military Relations & Ethics, Department of Defence Studies, Kings College, London Vassilis NEDOS, Diplomatic and Defense Editor, Kathimerini Newspaper, Athens Julia WEIGELT, Journalist, Expert for Security Policy, Co-Host of the NDR Podcast “Streitkräfte & Strategien“, Hamburg |
| - |
Forum 2 | All for One, and One for All? How is the Discourse about Defence Solidarity and Leadership Across Europe in Times of Eroding US Commitment? Jacopo BARIGAZZI, Senior Defense Correspondent at POLITICO Europe, Brussels Tobias CREMER, MdEP (Social Democrats), Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Security and Defence, European Parliament, Brussels Marcin TERLIKOWSKI, Head of Research Office, Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Warsaw |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
LITERATUR SALON | „Der stille Krieg - Wie Autokraten Deutschland angreifen“ Reinhard BINGENER & Markus WEHNER (Journalists at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and authors of “Der stille Krieg“ (Beck 2025), Frankfurt/Hannover |
| 21:00 Uhr |
Informal Get Together *invited |
Mittwoch, 25.03.2026
| 08:15 Uhr |
Invitation to Morning Prayer |
| 08:30 Uhr |
Breakfast |
| 09:15 Uhr |
BREAKOUT SESSION (Part 2) | Crucial Issues for Current and Future Public Discourse on Defense Policy in Europe |
| - |
Forum 3 | Guns vs Butter? How is the Financial Part of Europe’s Defense Reforms Discussed Oliver CUSWORTH, Senior Policy Officer, EIB Security and Defence Office, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg Ester SABATINO, Research Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis, Berlin Office, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Berlin* |
| - |
Forum 4 | Citizens’ Security IQ: Which Strategic Concepts Do We Need to Discuss Publicly and How? Tobias FELLA, Senior Researcher at the Berlin office of the Institute for Peace Re-search and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Berlin Michael KNIEPEN, Head of Division, Strategy & Integrated Security, German Minis-try of Defence, Berlin Roderich PARKES, Researcher, NATO Defence College, Rom |
| 11:00 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break (Bistro) |
| 11:15 Uhr |
OUTLOOK TALK | In Search of a Vision for European Defence Tiia-Triin TRUUSA, Dean of the Baltic Defence College, Tartu* Wolf-Jürgen STAHL, Major General and President of the Federal Academy for Secu-rity Policy, Berlin |
| 12:30 Uhr |
Farewell Lunch |
| 13:15 Uhr |
Bus Shuttle to Wunstorf train station *invited |