NATO’s European Dimension International Conference 21 June 2010,  Concert Noble, Brussels

Session I 11:00 – 12:00       NATO’s Outlook: Radical change or steady as she goes?   NATO is intent on reinventing itself, but how realistic is this ambition? Will the new Strategic Concept be radical enough to adapt NATO structures and thinking to the challenges of the new global security environment? How should it reflect the shifts in the transatlantic relationship since 2001 and questions about European and American shared interests? Will the new Concept resolve or exacerbate the turf war with the EU? What will be the reaction from non-member states like Russia and China? This session will also include a discussion on the 10 recommendations from the SDA’s global Security Jam session which emerged from the online debate on security threats and policies in February 2010, which featured input 4,000 experts in 124 countries. Speakers: Luis Manuel Cuesta Civís, Secretary General of Defence Policy, Ministry of Defence, Spanish Presidency of the EU Larry Hirst, EMEA Chairman, IBM Corporation Imants Liegis, Minister of Defence, Republic of Latvia Dmitry Rogozin, Ambassador and Head of Mission, Mission of the Russia to NATO   Moderators:  Giles Merritt, Director, Security & Defence Agenda Peter R. Weilemann, Director of the Brussels Office, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung      12:00 – 13:00:   “Security in an Era of Budgetary Scarcity”   Keynote address and Q&A Session   Anders Fogh Rasmussen   13:00 – 14:00:             Lunch SIPRI 2010 Yearbook Launch. SIPRI Director Bates Gill will present the new edition of the SIPRI Yearbook, with its analysis of security and conflicts, military spending and armaments, arms control and disarmament. All participants are welcome to join the discussion, preview the contents and pick up a summary version of the book. Session II 14:00 – 15:30       Is transatlantic defence procurement a “two-way street”? Both NATO and the European Union have invested much political capital in the liberalisation of defence industry contracts across the Atlantic. The competitive advantages enjoyed by many US defence companies – not least their substantial lead in advanced technologies – have created a widening defence trade gap in America’s favour. But does the controversy surrounding the US Air Force’s hotly-contested $50bn-plus tanker deal risk seriously souring transatlantic defence industry relations? Does the EU need to become more assertive if it is to even out the playing field in transatlantic defence procurement? Do we need a more radical change in pooling defence procurement?  Speakers: Robert Bell, Secretary of Defense Representative to Europe and Defense Advisor, US Mission to the EU Jeffrey Bialos, Executive Director of the Program on Transatlantic Security and Industry, Center for Transatlantic Relations, Washington DC Richard Froh, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Armaments, NATO Scott A. Harris, President Continental Europe, Lockheed Martin Global David O’Sullivan, Director General for Trade, European Commission Moderators: Giles Merritt, Director, Security & Defence Agenda Peter R. Weilemann, Director of the Brussels Office, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung 15:30 – 16:00:             Coffee Break Session III 16:00 – 17:30       Would better coordination mean success in Afghanistan? Debate still rages in the US and Europe over how troop withdrawal targets in Afghanistan can be reconciled with sustained and successful military operations against the Taliban. How can the EU live up to its development and reconstruction responsibilities in Afghanistan? Do we need a new approach to NATO, EU, UN and NGOs coordination? Although the ISAF mission is a NATO responsibility, how relevant is the situation in Afghanistan to European public support for ESDP? What greater effort is needed to convince public opinion that Afghanistan is crucial to Western security? Speakers: Robert Cooper, Director-General for External and Politico-Military Affairs, Council of the European Union Ivo H. Daalder, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, United States Mission to NATO Kai Eide, former UN Special Representative of the Secretary General, UN Gen. Sir John McColl, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO Moderators: Giles Merritt, Director, Security & Defence Agenda Peter R. Weilemann, Director of the Brussels Office, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung    17:30:                       Conference Ends   Download the programme in pdf.