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The current financial situation provided the backdrop to the SDA evening debate on the 2010 UK Strategic Defence and Security Review. “The government has made it clear that the financial screws are on” explained Julian Miller, Head of Foreign and Defence Policy in the UK Cabinet Office in his opening remarks. Participants questioned the ability of the UK to continue to cover current commitments while dramatically slashing budgets.Cooperation and coordination were recurring themes in the debate, with some participants insisting that the current review presented an opportunity for the UK to become more deeply involved with partners in the EU and criticising the small number of references to the EU and the Lisbon Treaty in the early stages of the review process. There was, however, consensus on the need for a strong and capable UK at the heart of European Defence.
See the programme.
NATO’s European dimensionKeynote speaker NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 21 June 2010, Concert Noble, Brussels
The 8th annual NATO Conference, in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, brought together a high level panel of experts to debate NATO and the EU’s outlook in the changing global security environment. Keynote Speaker Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO, made an appeal for increased cooperation between the EU, NATO and their partners and allies, specifically Russia. “We are all faced with the same challenges and must address them together,” Mr Rasmussen said. “This is the basis for everything. If we can agree what the security challenges are, then we can begin to map out our cooperation.” Mr. Rasmussen was also presented with a copy of 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.See more information about this event
SDA Advisory Board and Members’ Lunch in honour of new SDA co-presidents, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Javier Solana23 June 2010
At the SDA’s Annual Advisory Board and Members’ lunch today, former NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, inaugurated the presidency of the Brussels-based think-tank with an outline of the key areas the SDA should be focusing on. ‘We need to tackle the growing disconnect between the political elite and the people’ said Mr de Hoop Scheffer. He went on to outline some of the political areas where the SDA’s activities would be making a contribution in the next year: Connecting NATO with the public; Relations with Russia; The financing of NATO; EU and NATO relations with the Middle East Jamie Shea, NATO’s Director of Policy Planning in the Private Office of the Secretary General, recommended the SDA should complement its analysis and political debate with concrete recommendations. SDA’s milestone publication 10 Recommendations on the new Global Security Landscape was released in May this year. The recommendations came out of the 2010 Security Jam.
The Security & Defence Agenda (SDA) is based in the Bibliothèque Solvay in the Parc Léopold next to the European Parliament.
The building houses the SDA team and serves as the venue for almost all SDA events in Brussels.
SDA’s sister think-tank, Friends of Europe, is a prominent and lively Brussels-based think-tank for EU policy analysis and debate.
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Madeleine AlbrightFormer US Secretary of State
Margot WallströmFormer Vice President of the European Commission
Maria Teresa Fernandez de la VegaSpanish First Vice President of the Government
Lt. Gen. David Leakey Director General of the EU Military Staff
Jamie SheaDirector for Policy Planning, Private Office of the Secretary General of NATO
Recep Tayyip Erdogan Prime Minister of Turkey
Benita Ferrero-WaldnerFormer European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
Zhe SongAmbassador of the People’s Republic of China to the EU
Antonios ChatzidakisGeneral Manager, NAMSA, NATO
Admiral James StavridisSupreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)
Ana Maria GomesMEP and Vice Chairwoman, Committee on Security & Defence, European Parliament
General Stéphane AbrialNATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation(Jam Participant)
Carl BildtSwedish Minister of Foreign Affairs(Jam Participant)
Marc Perrin de BrichambautSecretary General, OSCE(Jam Participants)
Anne-Marie SlaughterDirector of Policy Planning, United States Department of State(Jam Participants)
Geoffrey Van OrdenMEP, SubCommittee on Security and Defence, European Parliament
Kai EideUN Special Representative to Afghanistan, UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan(Jam Participant)
Vladimir ChizhovAmbassador, Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU
Gen. Håkan SyrénChairman of European Military Committee (EUMC) (Jam Participant)
François GayetSecretary General of the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD)
Dmitry RogozinAmbassador, Mission of the Russian Federation to NATO
Alyson BailesVisiting Professor, University of Iceland
Peter WeilemannEuropean Office Director, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung
Stefanie BabstDeputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO
Jean-François BureauAssistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO
Lt. Gen. Karl EikenberryDeputy Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
Admiral Giampaolo di PaolaChairman of the Military Committee, NATO
Commander Snowy LinternLiaison Officer of the EU Naval Force in Somalia
Shirin Ebadi2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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