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European Defence & Security Summit 2026

23 & 24 June

Cercle Royal Gaulois, Brussels

From Vision to Readiness: Delivering Europe’s Defence

Europe enters 2026 at a decisive moment for its defence and security posture, as the era of strategy gives way to the era of delivery. Commitments on defence spending, industrial mobilisation and collective deterrence are no longer defined by political intent alone, but by their translation into operational capability and measurable readiness. Following the White Paper on European Defence and the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, supported by the European Defence Industrial Strategy, EDIP and the ReArm Europe Plan, the focus has shifted firmly toward implementation, joint procurement and industrial scale-up. These efforts unfold in a deteriorating security environment marked by persistent hybrid threats and intensifying geopolitical competition, including in the Arctic. As transatlantic coordination remains essential, Europe’s credibility increasingly depends on its capacity to act decisively and sustain resilience. The Summit therefore places readiness, governance and industrial execution at the centre of Europe’s security trajectory toward 2030.

Among the invited speakers

Andrius Kubilius
Commissioner for Defence & Space, European Commission
Roxana Mînzatu
EVP Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, European Commission
Ekaterina Zaharieva
Commissioner for Startups, Research & Innovation, European Commission
Apostolos Tzitzikostas
Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, European Commission
André Denk
Chief Executive, European Defence Agency
James Appathurai
Deputy Assistant Secretary General, NATO
Timo Pesonen
Director General DG DEFIS, European Commission
Lorena Boix Alonso
Deputy Director General DG DEFIS, European Commission
Camille Grand
Secretary General of the European Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association (ASD)
Herald Ruijters
Deputy Director General DG DEFIS, European Commission
Thomas Lunau
Defence Adviser to President von der Leyen, European Commission
Filip Grzegorzewski
Head of Information Integrity and Countering Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Division, European External Action Service
Hannah Neumann
Member of the European Parliament
Wouter Beke
Member of the European Parliament
Tobias Cremer
Member of the European Parliament
Villy Søvndal
Member of the European Parliament
Tomáš Zdechovský
Member of the European Parliament
Andreas Østhagen
Research Director Arctic & Ocean Politics, Fridtjof Nansen Institute
Anders Sjöborg
Deputy Chief Executive (EDA)
Bertrand de Cordoue
Advisor, Defence and Armament, Jaques Delors Institute
Kerstin Jorna
Director General, DG GROW, European Commission
Stefano Cont
Director of EDA’s Capability, Armament and Planning Directorate
Serafima Andreeva
Fridtjof Nansen Institute
Rodrigo da Costa
Executive Director at European Union Agency for Space Programme
Rear Admiral Francisco Javier Vázquez Sanz
EU Priority Capability Areas Coordinator, Spanish MoD
Jürgen Scraback
Head of Maritime Domain Unit, European Defence Agency
Jonathan Koski
Managing Director, NGC International INC
Christian Hadjiminas
CEO & Founder, Theon Group & EFA Group
Rafal Modrzewski
CEO, ICEYE
Rob Murray
CEO, Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) Development Group
Andrey Novakov
Member of the European Parliament
Barry Andrews
Member of the European Parliament
Helmut Brandstätter
Member of the European Parliament
Greta Monika Tuckute
Defense Counsellor, Lithuanian Permanent Representation to NATO
Major General Antonio Armada Vázquez
Director for Industry, Synergies and Enablers (ISE), European Defence Agency
Sven Kruck
CEO, Quantum Systems
Karolis Aleksa
Vice-Minister of National Defence of Lithuania
Benedetta Berti
Secretary General, NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Becca Wasser
Defense Lead, Bloomberg Economics
David Luengo
Managing Director Benelux, Indra
Lukas Tilly
CEO, Satcube
Vice Admiral Francisco Javier Romero Caramelo
Navantia (R)
Carlos Passos
Project Officer Aviation Cyber, European Defence Agency
Tomasz Husak
Director, DG DEFIS
Thierry Closset
Project Officer SESAR Collaborative Projects (EDA)
Pierroberto Folgiero
CEO and Managing Director, Fincantieri
Florika Fink-Hooijer
Director General, DG HERA
Major General Jorge Côrte-Real Andrade
Military Deputy Director For Europe, NATO DIANA
Nele Verlinden
Senior Legal Advisor, ICRC
Ali Alptekin
President of Defense & Aerospace, Kale Group of Companies
Isabelle Hudon
President of the Business Development Bank of Canada
Anna Ruzickova
CEO, S-Tech Ventures
Tomáš Nagy
Senior Research Fellow, GLOBSEC
Jennifer Stewart
Executive Vice President for Strategy & Policy, NDIA
Christoph Kautz
Director for Space Policy, Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation, DG DEFIS
Tarja Jaakkola
Assistant Secretary General - Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments, NATO
Béatrice Godefroy
Deputy director of DCAF
Timo Engelhardt
Partner, Linklaters
Fernando Miguelez Garcia
Representative to EU & NATO, Navantia
Gabriel Coloma
Business Development Director for Europe, EM&E Group
Nathalie Chuard
Director, Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
Guillaume Couneson
Partner, Linklaters
Fritz Stuelpnagel
Managing Director, DefTech Europe
Florika Fink-Hooier
Director General, DG HERA
Rear Admiral Ignacio Cuartero
EU Military Staff, Director of Capacities, (EUMS)
Giancarlo Turco
Senior Staff Officer, Colonel GS, International Molitary Staff, NATO
Olesya Vinhas De Souza
Researcher, NATO Defence College
François Arbault
Director, DG DEFIS
Tamer Siricali
Project Director, Otokar Land Systems
Natasha Sharp
Head Euro-Atlantic Security Policy, UK Ministry of Defence
Michael Plagge
Chief Membership Officer, Eclipse Foundation
Renzo Tomellini
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Leonardo Brussels Office, Leonardo
Yves-Marie Gourlin
Vice-President for European Affairs, Dassault
Ali Serdar Kılınç
Global Marketing Strategies Director, Aselsan
Dave Keating
Moderator
George Dubynskyi
President, DefTechCluster
Thierry Segers
Programme Manager, DG DEFIS
Davyd Aloian
Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine
Jennifer Baker
EU Reporter
Teri Schultz
EU/NATO Reporter
Nicholas Wallace
The Arsenal
Raphael Minder
Financial Times
Tim Mak
The Arsenal
Suzanne Lynch
Brussels Bureau Chief, Bloomberg

Check the 2026 Agenda

Our mission is twofold: we aim to bring politics and business together in order to provide them with an opportunity to debate and pursue their common goals, giving a voice to all sides of the debate. The other priority of EBS is to provide European institutions with a platform where they can place their top priorities in the spotlight and advance the development of new pieces of legislation through discussion with a variety of actors and stakeholders.

Arnaud Thysen
Director General

They trust us

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