AT THE EDGE?
How Europe Should Respond to Nuclear Threats
Montag, 01.06.2026
| 13:25 Uhr |
Shuttle Bus from train station Wunstorf |
| 14:00 Uhr |
Check in and Welcome Coffee or Tea |
| 14:30 Uhr |
Words of Welcome |
| 14:45 Uhr |
KICK-OFF TALK | The New Nuclear Age: Risks, Realities, and the Road Ahead Ankit PANDA, Stanton Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington D.C. |
| 15:30 Uhr |
Coffee & Cake Break (at the Dining Hall) |
| 16:00 Uhr |
Discussion continues |
| 16:45 Uhr |
Break |
| 17:00 Uhr |
POLICY PANEL | The Big Three: Decoding the Nuclear Policies of Russia, China and the United States from a European Perspective INSIGHTS INTO THE SITUATION … … IN WASHINGTON Nicole GRAJEWSKI, Nonresident Scholar, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Assistant Professor at the Centre de Recherches Internationales (CERI), Paris …MOSCOW Andrey BAKLITSKIY, Senior Researcher, Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research), Geneva …AND IN BEIJING Jiang TIANJIAO, Associate Professor at the Development Institute, Fudan University and Deputy Director at the Center for BRICS Studies, Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School, Shanghai |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
POLICY PANEL | Doing It the European Way: Navigating Between Deterrence and Nuclear Risk Reduction Amid Declining U.S. Commitment Szymon BOCHEŃSKI, Head of Non-proliferation Section, Security Policy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland, Warsaw Pauline LEVY, Deputy Head, Disarmament and Nonproliferation, Directorate for Defense Strategy, Counter Proliferation and Strategic Foresight, French Ministry of Defense, Paris* Peter WATKINS, Visiting Professor, School of Security Studies at King’s College and Former Director General (2014-18) at the UK Ministry of Defence, London |
| 21:00 Uhr |
Informal get together |
| - |
* = invited ** = preliminary confirmed |
Dienstag, 02.06.2026
| 07:15 Uhr |
Invitation to Morning Run (optional) |
| 08:15 Uhr |
Invitation to Morning Prayer |
| 08:30 Uhr |
Breakfast |
| 09:30 Uhr |
BROAD PICTURE TALK | What Happened to Global Zero: Did We lose Sight of Nuclear Disarmament? Hans KRISTENSEN, Director, Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists, Washington D.C. Beatrice FIHN, Founder and Director of Lex International and Senior Fellow at UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research), Geneva Gerlinde F. NIEHUS, Former Deputy Director, Defence and Security Cooperation, NATO HQ, Brussels/Berlin* |
| 10:45 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break |
| 11:00 Uhr |
BREAKOUT SESSION PART 1 | Crucial Nuclear Policy Issues – Especially for European Have-Nots |
| - |
Forum I: Still Room for Contribution? How Could Europe Add To Nuclear Risk Minimization and Arms Control Tarja CRONBERG, Distinguished Associate Fellow, SIPRI, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Solna Oliver MEIER, Head of Programme on Nuclear and Multilateral Disarmament, European Leadership Network, Berlin/London |
| - |
Forum II: Disruptive? Exploring the Links between Technological Innovation and Future Nuclear (In)Stability? Eleni EKMEKTSIOGLOU, Policy Fellow, on Risk Reduction, Emerging Technologies and Nuclear Strategy, BASIC (British American Security Information Council), London/Paris Tristan VOLPE, Senior Researcher, Arms Control and Emerging Technologies Project, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), and Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey/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 |
BREAKOUT SESSION PART 2 | Crucial Nuclear Policy Issues – Especially for European Have-Nots |
| - |
Forum III: Potential Nuclear Flashpoints in Europe and the Future of (Un)conventional Escalation Management Ulrich KÜHN, Head, “Arms Control and Emerging Technologies”, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Hamburg Polina SINOVETS, Head of the Odessa Center for Non-Proliferation (OdCNP) and Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations, Odessa |
| - |
Forum IV: A Gap too Wide? How to Bridge the Growing Divide Between Different Constituencies in the Nuclear Field Jana BALDUS, Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network (ELN) and Associated Researcher, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), London Juliane HAUSCHULZ, Board Member, ICAN Germany (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) and IPPNW Germany (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War), Berlin |
| 17:00 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break |
| 17:15 Uhr |
OUT OF THE BOX SESSION | Discussing Innovative Ideas of Relevance in Future Nuclear Policy (in parallel Breakout Groups) This interactive part of the conference has methodology the nature of a Mini Open Space. Participants and panelists are cordially invited to suggest innovative topics for small group discussions that demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking but at the same time signifies relevance for future nuclear policy. could also be relevant to future policy. To facilitate intensive small-group discussions, two 45-minute sessions are scheduled from 17:15h to 18:00h and from 18:00h to 18:45h. |
| - |
Group 1 Don’t be Late on Latency: How Can Germany already now prepare some Latency Functions in case the European Card of Improved Deterrence is not playing out? |
| - |
Group 2 Just Multilateral Theater? The Fait and Future of the NPT |
| - |
Group 3 Absolutely fair: What would happen if we consequently applied the concept of “Nuclear Justice” European Foreign Policy? |
| - |
Group 4 ... |
| 18:30 Uhr |
Dinner |
| 19:30 Uhr |
EVENING TALK| The Future of Iran’s Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Program – What Role for the Europeans? Stephan KLEMENT, Special Envoy Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Special Adviser on Iran Nuclear Issues, EEAS, Brussels Azadeh ZAMIRIRAD, Head, Africa & Middle East Research Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin |
| 20:45 Uhr |
Informal Come Together |
| - |
* = invited ** = preliminary confirmed |
Mittwoch, 03.06.2026
| 08:30 Uhr |
Breakfast |
| 09:30 Uhr |
BREAKOUT SESSION PART 3 | Discussion in Parallel Forums will be continued |
| - |
Forum V: Atomic Options Avanceé? Deterrence and Nuclear Sharing in the European Way Héloïse FAYET, Research Fellow and Head, Deterrence & Proliferation Research Program, Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Paris Oliver THRÄNERT, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Research Division, International Security, German Institute for International and Security Policy (SWP), Berlin |
| - |
Forum VI: No Fear of the “Fear Debate”: How to Debate Deterrence including its (Un)Ethical Implications in the Wider Public? Astrid KAUSE, Junior Professor of Sustainability Science and Psychology, University Leuphana, Lüneburg Michal ONDERCO, Professor of International Relations in the Department of Public Administration and Sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam |
| 11:00 Uhr |
Coffee & Tea Break |
| 11:15 Uhr |
CONCLUDING PANEL | What Future Role for European Nuclear Have-Nots? Klaus De RIJK, Senior Strategic Advisor, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague Giorgio FRANCESCHINI, Nuclear Expert, Division OR09 (Nuclear Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament), Federal Foreign Office, Berlin Barrows NASSIMA, Acting Director of Nuclear Policy at NATO, Brussels** |
| 12:30 Uhr |
Farwell Lunch |
| 12:50 Uhr |
Shuttle to Train Station/ Airport |
| - |
* = invited ** = preliminary confirmed |