10 MARCH 2017

FRANCE AND GERMANY: DRIVING EUROPEAN DEFENCE

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION, BERLIN

PROGRAMME Cover image credits: Shutterstock

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10:30-10:50 Welcome coffee and registration of participants

10:50-11:00 INTRODUCTION Michèle Auga , Head of Department for Western Europe and North America at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Berlin

11:00-12:30 SESSION 1 PLANNING FOR AN UNPREDICTABLE WORLD

The current geopolitical landscape calls for a stronger security emphasis in Europe. Instability in the EU’s neighbourhood and beyond, globally increased defence spend- ing, contested multilateralism, violent con4icts, social inequality and mass migration, combined with Brexit, unclear directions from the new U.S. administration and in- creasing Russian assertiveness are cause for concern. While the EU’s new global strategy paves the way, details of implementation are yet to become clear. How pre- pared is Europe to face these challenges?

How will the 2017 elections in France and Germany impact the two countries’ foreign policies? How closely aligned are French and German views of Europe’s role as a regional and global security provider? Can the two countries be the cornerstone for the EU's proposed 'Defence Union'? What other coalitions exist within the EU, and do informal groups such as the Weimar Triangle or the Visegrad Four carry weight in set- ting European defence priorities? What are the implications if the UK's military strengths can no longer be counted on? Speakers include:

Niels Annen , Foreign Affairs Spokesman of the Social Democratic Party of Ger- many (SPD) Group in the Bundestag Alfredo Conte , Head of Division for Strategic Planning at the European External Action Service (EEAS) Philippe Etienne , French Ambassador to Germany Paul Taylor , European Affairs Editor at Politico Moderator: Pauline Massart , Deputy Director for Security and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe

2 12.30 - 13.30 Networking Lunch

13.30 - 15.00 SESSION 2 FROM VISION TO IMPLEMENTATION

The barriers to a rapid strengthening of Europeans’ weakened military outreach appear daunting. Money alone won’t solve the problem, but must be combined with a strategic upgrade of CSDP, institutional reform and the harmonisation of capability development. Is Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) now the best way forward? Is there common ground for stronger coordination between France’s and Germany’s investment and modernization priorities? How far are these aligned with European, and notably EDA priorities? Will the promised yearly €500m in EU support under the new European Defence Action Plan prove a signiBcant addition to the €20bn Europe's defence industries already spend on R&D?

Speakers include:

Hans-Peter Bartels , Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces in the Bun- destag

Alain Le Roy , French Ambassador and former Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS)

Claudia Major , Senior Associate at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) Alice Pannier , Researcher at the Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l'École Militaire (IRSEM)

Moderator: Uwe Optenhögel , Head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels OfBce

15.00-15:15 CLOSING REMARKS

Giles Merritt , Founder and Chairman of Friends of Europe

Discussants will include:

Benoit D’Aboville , Vice President of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique; François Devoto , Counsellor at the Embassy of France to Germany; Bogdan Klich , Senator at the Polish Senate; Christian Mölling , Senior Resident Transatlantic Fel- low at the German Marshall Fund of the United States; Omid Nouripour , Member of Parliament in the German Bundestag; Jean-Paul Perruche , President of Euro- Défense France; Andrea Shalal , Senior Correspondent at Thomson Reuters; Jan Techau , Director at the American Academy in Berlin; Nicolai Van Ondarza , Deputy Head of Division EU/Europe at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs; Thomas Wrießnig , Vice President at the German Federal Academy for Se- curity Policy; Amélie Zima , Researcher at the Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l'École Militaire

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