Some 30 senior figures from the defence and policy fields in France, Germany, the UK and other European countries gathered in Paris in July for a Club of Three lunchtime discussion on European defence and security. The event was hosted by his Excellency Stephan Steinlein, German Ambassador to France, at his residence in the French capital.
The meeting, which took place ahead of the NATO summit and 75th anniversary celebration in Washington D.C, discussed the adequacy of efforts to strengthen European defence, including recent EU plans for industrial readiness, and their robustness in the face of Russia’s reorganised military and economy. Another important focus was how far European countries could work with NATO to sustain long term support for Ukraine – with or without strong U.S involvement.
This discussion will be chaired by Elisabeth Braw, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of Goodbye Globalization, and led by leading experts including Angus Lapsley, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning at NATO, Ulrike Franke, Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and Camille Grand.
Participants included: Eric Béranger (CEO, MBDA); Peer Horstmann (Deputy Director, European Defence, German Foreign Office); Anne-Charlotte Fredenucci (Chair, Ametra Group); Alexandre Escorcia (Head of Department, Europe, North America and Mulitilateral Action, French Ministry for the Armed Forces); David Williams (Head of Europe Defence Policy, BAE Systems); Edward Howard (Head of Intelligence, Vodafone Group External Affairs); Peter Watkins (Director General Strategy and International, UK Ministry of Defence, 2014-18); Rym Momtaz (Consultant Research Fellow for European Foreign Policy and Security, IISS); Ralph D. Thiele (Chairman, Politisch-Militärische Gesellschaft); and François Heisbourg (Special Adviser, Foundation pour la Recherche Stratégique).