In the run up to the December 2013 European Council devoted to defence issues, and in view of ongoing austerity cuts in EU and NATO member states, the Security & Defence Day ’13 will address several questions: 

Does Europe have the means to fulfil its global security ambitions and stabilise its own neighbourhood?How could NATO’s ‘smart defence’ and EU’s ‘pooling and sharing’ relieve the pressure on defence budget and what could be done to kick-start a renewed defence industry drive? 

This year’s debate will span many topics, including how cooperation between the EU and NATO might be improved to avoid duplication in maritime operations, mitigate the threats posed by counter-terrorism and coordinate their cyber-security as well as cyber defence strategies. 

Speakers include: 
Stéphane Beemelmans, State Secretary of the German Ministry of Defence
Pieter De Crem, Belgian Defence Minister
Franco Frattini, Former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Vice President of the European Commission
Bogdan Klich, Deputy Chair Polish Senate and former Minister of National Defence, PolandRt. Hon. Lord 
John Reid, Former UK Defence Secretary and Home Secretary, Principal of the Chertoff Group and Chair of the Institute for Security and Resilience Studies