Debating security plus, Brussel

Atomium in Brussel
© Kevin Bergenhenegouwen
datum 26 september 2017 13:00 - 28 september 2017 14:00
plaats Brussel, België
aanwezigen A.G. (Bert) Koenders i, Ch.F. (Chris) Patten i, M.E. (Margot) Wallström i, (Elmar) Brok i, G. De Kerchove i, M.R. (Marietje) Schaake i, (Ana) Gomes i, (Beatriz) Becerra Basterrechea i, J.B. (Julian) King i e.a.
organisatie Friends of Europe

Debating Security Plus is a global online brainstorm that aims to yield concrete recommendations. It builds on Friends of Europe‘s experience with other online debates and gathers several thousand experts around the world. The 2017 event will bring together senior international participants from the military, government and multilateral institutions along with voices from NGOs and civil society, business and industry, the media, think tanks and academia.

This year’s debate will also draw on Debating Europe’s unrivalled community of 2.5m citizens across Europe and beyond. Their involvement in our security policy brainstorm will help bridge the gaps between experts and voters.

In previous years, our security brainstorms have pulled together up to 4,200 participants, and their recommendations were fed into the policy thinking that shaped NATO’s Strategic Concept in 2010 and the EU’s Global Strategy in 2016.

The connections between security, defence, economic development and policies on environmental, migration and social questions are today inescapable. They inform strategic thinking on defence and security structures and capabilities. Security today is as much about ensuring peace and stability through promoting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as it is about improving military capabilities.

From 26-28 September the international security community will for 48 hours debate ideas relating to six different themes, each introduced by video messages from leading figures of the security and defence sector. Moderators will steer discussions towards concrete recommendations, and will also highlight disagreement as well as consensus. In-depth ‘rapid-fire chats’ will be hosted by partner organisations, allowing participants to zero in on highly specific topics.

Do you want to receive the latest information on the event registration times? Sign up here.

Related content:

  • 2016 Security Jam Report: The report includes the top ten recommendations for a safer world, conclusions from the discussions, among others.

IMAGE CREDIT: Bigstock, CC/Flickr - West Point - The U.S. Military Academy, United Nations Photo

Programme

Theme 1: Countering radicalisation and global terrorism

Countering the growth of global terrorism is as much about coordinating intelligence-sharing and combatting arms trafficking or money laundering as it is about fighting terrorist strongholds in the Middle East, Africa or the Indian sub-continent. Strengthening ‘smart borders’ systems, for instance in the EU, and promoting good governance are also important priorities.

The idea of a global “roadmap” to eradicate terrorist networks will be discussed, as will the root causes and drivers of terrorism. Is a common view of urgent priorities emerging, and how well are police, military and judicial authorities progressing with the exchanging of best practices and sharing these with international bodies and NGOs? Is there any consensus on how best to fund counter-terrorism, and has a more ‘whole-of-society’ approach to terrorism begun to trickle down to operational levels?

Theme 2: From hybrid to asymmetric warfare

The limitations of conventional military power when arrayed against IS forces in Syria have become increasingly plain. The case urged for some time by counter-insurgency experts for far-reaching reviews of both tactics and strategies when intervening is gaining ground.

At the same time, it’s evident that the nature of low-level security threats is increasingly heterogeneous. The hybrid tactics deployed in Ukraine - and alleged instances of Russian disinformation and even cyber warfare - are very different to asymmetric on-the-ground conditions in, say, Syria or Mali.

What sort of re-think is needed, and by whom? Is a new approach by international organisations under way? How should approaches be coordinated, for instance those of NATO and the EU, where the connections with civil society and community policing are much stronger? What lessons can be learned from low-intensity conflicts and guerrilla warfare situations from around the world?

Should both military and civil policymakers be thinking in terms of a new security doctrine that would help societies to adapt to the changing threats of the 21st century? Might a far-reaching review of responses to hybrid and asymmetric challenges help governments to reassess their funding of security mechanisms and new capabilities?

The most difficult question of all may prove to be balancing citizens’ privacy rights and freedoms with the need by relevant authorities for access to digital technologies that offer improved surveillance and intelligence gathering.

Theme 3: Nuclear proliferation and other nuclear threats

The nuclear nightmare of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) that dominated and defined the Cold War years is being reincarnated in a variety of guises. How should policymakers be tackling and defusing the threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons?

At the geopolitical level, question marks hang over the durability of the 2015 deal with Iran to de-militarise its nuclear programme, and over North Korea’s missile tests and intentions. Almost a quarter-century has passed since the START II (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) was signed by the U.S. and Russia, but a global agreement on the reining in of nuclear weapons development remains elusive. What sort of initiative could address this deteriorating situation?

Within Europe, how should the international community view Brexit and the withdrawal from the EU of one of its two nuclear powers? Will France’s new status as the sole EU country with nuclear armaments be significant, and what are the implications for the UK itself as its political leaders continue to debate the value of an expensive modernisation of its Trident nuclear-armed submarines?

Theme 4: Cyber defence and deterrence

Robotics, ‘Big Data’, artificial intelligence (AI), automation and virtual reality promise huge change and a wealth of opportunities for the global economy. But they bring with them vulnerability. Cyber-defence is shaping to be the major concern of policymakers, across the public and private sectors, as they study the defences needed to protect society against attack.

Cyber defences have been strengthened greatly in recent years. Although cybercrime is a serious problem, major corporations and financial institutions have erected effective safeguards against the theft and abuse of data as well as funds. The major unresolved problem, however, is how to protect the millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are the backbone of all national economies. In addition, protecting critical infrastructure such as nuclear installations, energy grids or urban transport systems, from cyber-attack remains an issue for the public as well as the private sector. Are policymakers, police and military officials keeping pace with developing threats, and how far are current public-private partnership models yielding results? Once again, striking the correct balance between security and personal freedoms is of key importance.

There is still far too little international agreement on assessing common cyber threats, and the defences there should be against them. Countering cyber-attacks that can be classified as military offensives is a high priority for security services, but their task is greatly complicated by the fact that cyber technology is generally dual-use, as relevant to civil society as it is to national defence. Can a line be drawn between military and civilian cyber defences when so much of the advanced expertise is in private sector hands?

What might a truly global pact on cyber issues look like, and given the years it has already been under discussion, how feasible and likely is one? Or are national defences beginning to create a degree of resilience against cyber threats that makes ponderous international agreements redundant against such fast-developing technologies?

Theme 5: Realigning security and development

The likelihood of continuing, and quite possibly worsening, insecurity in Europe’s southern neighbourhood is raising important questions about the link between economic development assistance and improved security.

The instability throughout the Middle East that was exacerbated by the Arab Spring in 2011 is matched by fears that Africa also poses a growing security threat. Although many African countries’ economic growth rates have of late outstripped those of Asia’s ‘tigers’, the implications of the continent’s population explosion are a major concern.

Should global economic development policies be realigned with security thinking? As well as improving governments’ defences against organised crime and corruption, should there be more support for military structures and capabilities, and with what implications for civilian oversight? How should regional organisations, for instance in Africa or South America, improve their cooperation with partners like the EU and the United Nations?

Theme 6: Climate change, conflict and mass migration

The impact of climate change on delicate eco-systems that support subsistence farming is now a matter of record. On present trends, the next few years will see humanitarian crises on a scale that will threaten peace and stability.

The outlook for the COP21 global agreement of late 2015 is uncertain, but even if its disciplines are observed the trend towards warming of the planet’s most vulnerable regions will be hard to reverse. What, therefore, is the long- range planning of the international security community?

An agenda for strengthening responses to climate-induced natural catastrophes is clearly an urgent priority. What sort of emergency capabilities will be needed, and what are the lessons to be learned from mass migrations so far?

Civil-military cooperation has been controversial for some time, with NGOs and the military often at loggerheads over ethical considerations as well as practical matters. But the need for enhanced civil-military cooperation is being emphasised by expectated and declared famine and mass movements of people away from arid lands. Just as the EU originally led the way towards global policy solutions on the environment, could an EU initiative for handling the effects of climate change be a global game changer?

Speakers

  • David Andelman

    Editor Emeritus at the World Policy Journal & Columnist at CNN Opinion

    David Andelman is a veteran foreign correspondent, author and commentator contributing frequently to CNN on global affairs. A member of the Board of Contributors of USA Today, he has served as Editor of World Policy Journal, Executive Editor of Forbes, news reporter and bureau chief for The New York Times, based in New York, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, among others. Andelman is also the author of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today (2007) that looks at the origins of many of today's deepest global crises.

  • Alison August-Treppel

    Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) at the Organisation of American States (OAS)

    In her current capacity, Alison August-Treppel is responsible for promoting the organisation’s counter terrorism agenda throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. She previously acted as Deputy Director of the OAS Department of Public Security where she provided technical and managerial oversight to OAS efforts to prevent and combat threats to citizen security in the Americas, including firearms trafficking. August-Treppel also served as a political liaison to numerous OAS security-related groups, such as the Committee on Hemispheric Security, inter-American Conventions and meetings of national authorities on transnational organised crime, among others.

  • Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea

    Member of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights

    Mrs. Beccera is a Member of the European Parliament, working actively on human rights, development as well as on women and equality. She has a background from the private sector, working in communication and marketing as director for multinational companies and NGO:s, such as Action Against Hunger. Since 2016 she holds the position as an independent within ALDE at the European Parliament where she has done important work on gender equality, development and human rights.

  • Carl Bildt

    Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (2006-2014) and Swedish Prime Minister (1991-1994)

    A renowned international diplomat, Carl Bildt has led the Swedish government that negotiated and signed Sweden’s accession to the European Union and modernized its welfare system. He later served as Swedish Foreign Minister and was one of the initiators of the EU’s Easter Partnership and of EU engagement in the Middle East. Most recently, Bildt chaired the Global Commission on Internet Governance that produced original researches and recommendations on topics such as the dark web, cybersecurity and internet freedom.

  • Elmar Brok

    Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs

    Mr. Brok has been a Member of the European Parliament since 1980, best known for his role as chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2007. Brok has held many leadership positions in German and European politics. As a member of the Convention on the Constitution for Europe and in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Brok is widely credited with contributing crucially to the Constitution of the European Union. He is currently the President of the Union of European Federalists (UEF).

  • Paul Carroll

    Senior Advisor at N Square: The Crossroads for Nuclear Security Innovation

    Paul Carroll is a well-regarded expert on a broad array of nuclear weapons topics, from the history and current status of US plans and programs, to international programs and treaty regimes. In his current capacity, he works on a multimillion dollar initiative designed to stimulate innovation in the fields of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and safety and security. For 17 years before joining N Square, Carroll was the Director of Programs at the Ploughshares Fund. Carroll has a particular expertise on the US Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons infrastructure and North Korea.

  • Patrick Costello

    Head of Division for Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan at the European External Action Service (EEAS)

    Patrick Costello is currently Head of the European External Action Service’s team covering Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt. He has 20 years’ experience as an EU official including several years in the private offices of Commissioners Chris Patten, Margot Wallström, as Head of the Private office of Commissioner Karmenu Vella and as diplomatic adviser to European Parliament President Josep Borrell. Costello has also worked in UN Missions in Haiti and South Africa and for the NGO world on human rights in Central America.

  • Gilles De Kerchove

    Counter-Terrorism Coordinator at the Council of the European UnionMr. de Kerchove has been the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator since 2007, where he plays a central role in monitoring the implementation of the EU counter-terrorism strategy. Prior to this position, he served as he was the Director for Justice and Home Affairs at the EU Council Secretariat. He has a long experience with internal security given his previous positions as Minister of Justice for the Belgian Government. At a European level he was also the Deputy Secretary of the Convention which drafted the Charter of the fundamental rights of the European Union.

  • Koen Doens

    Director for East and Southern Africa and ACP Coordination at the European Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO)

    Before joining DG DEVCO, Koen Doen served as former Commission president Barroso's right-hand man and head of the European Commision’s Spokesperson's Service, responsible for all political communications. Prior to that, he had successively served as Head of Cabinet for the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid. Prior to his European experience, Doens worked as a Member of Cabinet for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Gadi Evron

    Founder & CEO, Cymmetria

    Gadi Evron is the Founder and CEO of Cymmetria, a cyber deception startup. Mr. Evron has 15 years of experience in the field of cybersecurity, having created global professional working groups, global incident response task forces, and written a lot on the topic. Prior to founding Cymmetria, Evron was Vice President of Cybersecurity Strategy for Kaspersky Lab, led PwC's Cyber Security Center of Excellence in Israel, and was in charge of the Israeli government's Internet operations.

  • Mary Fitzgerald

    Award-Winning Journalist and Columnist for the Irish Independent, Libya Analyst & European Young Leader

    Mary Fitzgerald is a journalist and analyst specialising in the Euro-Mediterranean region with a particular focus on Libya. She began her career reporting on post-conflict Northern Ireland, and since then she has worked across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Fitzgerald has conducted researches on Libya for well-known think-tanks and institutes, and is a contributing author to an edited volume on the Libyan revolution published by Oxford University Press. She has worked on a number of award-winning radio documentaries for the BBC, one of which won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award.

  • Solange Ghernaouti

    Professor at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and Director at the Swiss Cybersecurity Advisory and Research Group

    Solange Ghernaouti is an internationally recognised expert on cybersecurity, cyber-defence and cybercrime related issues. She has contributed to several initiatives organised by international organisations, research centres and law enforcement agencies all around the globe. Moreover, Ghernaouti has authored more than 200 publications and more than twenty-five books on ICT and security issues. For her dedication to cybersecurity, she has been recognised by the Swiss press as one of the most outstanding women in professional and academic circles, and has been named Knight of the Legion of Honour.

  • Kate Gilmore

    Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations (OHCHR)As the Deputy High Commissioner, Gilmore plays a significant role in promoting human rights in troubled areas of the world, and focuses particularly on human rights violations in Iraq. Kate Gilmore brings to the current position diverse and longstanding experience in strategic leadership and human rights advocacy gained from the United Nations, as well as government and non-government organisations. She has served as Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for Programmes with the United Nations Population Fund, and Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International, among other senior appointments.

  • Ana Gomes

    Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Committee of money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion and Trustee of Friends of Europe

    An established and experienced diplomat, Ana Gomes has cemented a reputation as a strident supporter and defender of democracy, human rights, social justice and the rule of law. She has previously been involved in the EU Middle East Peace Process and has led several EU election observation missions in Africa and South-East Asia. Gomes has become a vocal critic of the maladministration of EU law by multinational corporations to minimise tax costs and the negative impact this has on European citizens, governance and society.

  • Camille Grand

    Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

    Camille Grand is a proven expert on NATO, nuclear policy and missile defence. Prior to his current position, Grand served as Director and CEO of the Fondation Pour la Recherche Stratégique, the leading French think tank on defence and security, and has held senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence. He has served as French representative in several international negotiations and senior groups on NATO, non-proliferation and disarmament, including Group of Experts on the NATO 2010 Strategic Concept and Secretary General Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.

  • Pekka Haavisto

    Member of the Finnish Parliament, Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on mediation and President of the European Institute of Peace

    Pekka Haavisto has extensive knowledge in crisis management and political negotiations. He has served as the EU Special Representative for Sudan and Darfur, UN Special Advisor to the Darfur peace process, and has also led the UN Environment Programme for the post-conflict environmental assessments and projects in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East, Liberia and Sudan. Haavisto has been twice a cabinet minister (Minister for International Development and Minister of Environment) and is expected to run for the second time as the Green League candidate in the Finnish Presidential elections.

  • Kirsi Henriksson

    Head of Mission EUCAP Sahel (Niger) of the European External Action Service (EEAS)Kirsi Henriksson serves as the Head of the European Union EUCAP Sahel Niger civilian crisis management mission since September 2016. Her main responsibilities include training Niger's security forces staff to improve police procedures and the legal basis of activities, also in view of action against terrorism. Henriksson has extensive experience in crisis management tasks and has previously worked in the EU’s EUBAM Libya border control mission and the EUJUST LEX-Iraq mission. Earlier, Henriksson was the director of Crisis Management Centre Finland. She has also worked as researcher and lecturer at the University of Tampere and Tampere Peace Research Institute.

  • Kathleen H. Hicks

    Senior Vice President, Henry A. Kissinger Chair, and Director of the International Security Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

    Kathleen Hicks is a distinguished expert on US foreign policy, national security strategy and strategic futures. Previously, she was a career civil servant in the Office of the Secretary of Defence and Department of Defence (DOD), serving in a variety of capacities. Most notably, she worked as principal Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces. For her service, Hicks received numerous recognitions, including distinguished awards from three secretaries of defence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

  • Annette Idler

    Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Programme at the University of Oxford

    At the University of Oxford, Dr Annette Idler is the Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Programme, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations and at Pembroke College, and Affiliate at the Latin American Centre. Her work focuses on the interface of conflict, security and transnational organized crime and she has conducted extensive fieldwork in war-torn and crisis-affected countries. Dr Idler has published extensively on security dynamics related to violent non-state groups and advises governments, the United Nations and other international organizations.

  • Julian King

    European Commissioner for the Security Union

    (Video statement only)

    A former UK Ambassador to France, Sir Julian currently serves as British European Commissioner, replacing Jonathan Hill who resigned following the outcome of the Brexit referendum. Responsible for the Security Union as part of Jean-Claude Juncker’s team, he works on developing European security and counter-terrorism plans, beefing up the EU’s counter-terrorism role and taking action to prevent radicalisation.

  • Bert Koenders

    Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Mr. Koenders succeeded Frans Timmermans as Minister of Foreign Affairs in October 2014. Prior to this role, Mr Koenders was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSMA) in Mali. In 2011, he was asked by Ban Ki-Moon, to lead a UN mission in Côte d’Ivoire. Between 2010 and 2011 Mr Koenders worked in South Korea as a negotiator on economics and development for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Busan Partnership agreement.

  • Robert M. Lee

    Founder & CEO, Dragos, Inc.

    Robert M. Lee is the CEO and Founder of the industrial cyber security company Dragos, Inc., developing solutions for some of the industrial control system community's hardest cyber security challenges. He is also a non-resident National Cybersecurity Fellow at New America focusing on policy issues relating to the cyber security of critical infrastructure. For his research and focus areas, Lee was named one of Passcode’s Influencers, awarded EnergySec’s Cyber Security Professional of the Year (2015), and included into Forbes’ 30 under 30 for Enterprise Technology (2016).

  • Fabrice Leggeri

    Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX)

    A distinguished professional with an extensive background in migration, international law and Schengen-related issues, Fabrice Leggeri currently serves as Executive Director of Frontex, the EU agency managing the cooperation between national border guards securing its external borders. Before joining Frontex, Leggeri worked at the French Ministry of Interior, where he contributed to drafting the Commission communication, which recommended the creation of Frontex. He previously headed the Division of International and European Law at the French Ministry of Defence and the Division on Irregular Migration at the Ministry of Interior.

  • Sam Makhudu Gulube

    Secretary for Defence and Military Veterans, South Africa

    Dr. Sam Gulube was appointed as Secretary for Defence in December 2011, after having served as the Advisor to the Minister of State Security in 2011. A qualified medical doctor and former soldier, Sam Gulube has held a wide spectrum of leadership positions throughout his career. He served as CEO of the Universal Service Agency and he was later appointed as National Medical Director of the National Blood Service during the Apartheid era where his main achievement was to stop racially profiling blood donors.

  • Stefano Manservisi

    European Commission Director General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO)

    Prior to his current assignment Stefano Manservisi served as the Head of Cabinet of European Union Vice President Federica Mogherini. With over 30 years of experience in the Commission, he previously worked as Director General of the Directorate-General for Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (DG DEV), Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) and as Head of the Delegation of the EU to Turkey. Manservisi was previously a visiting professor at the College of Europe, University of Roma III and the University of Bologna.

  • Denis Mercier

    Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

    Throughout his career, General Denis Mercier has acquired extensive experience both as a fighter pilot, having flown a total of more than 3000 flying hours, and as an operational commander. He held a variety of high-level military positions before being promoted to Chief of Staff of the French Air Force. Above all, NATO has been a constant throughout his career, culminating in his appointment as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO’s most senior strategic command.

  • Sven Mikser

    Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, that assumed Presidency of the EU Council in July, Sven Mikser currently focuses his efforts on effectively implementing Estonian Presidency’s priorities in the field of security, migration, and the EU neighbourhood policy, including fulfilling the objectives of the Eastern Partnership. Prior to that, Mikser has acted as Minister of Defence and has been a member of the Estonian Parliament from 1999 - 2014, where he was most involved in the Foreign Affairs and National Defence Committees.

  • Kunio Mikuriya

    Secretary General at the World Customs Organization (WCO)

    Since Kunio Mikuriya’s appointment as Secretary General, the WCO has enhanced its work with the Global Partnership and bilateral Donors in setting up its counter-WMD programmes. Under Mikuriya’s leadership, the Organization has created several state-of-the-art tools under its Security Programme to enable better border security and international cooperation to counter smuggling and trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials. Prior to that, Mikuriya worked for Japan's Ministry of Finance where he occupied a variety of senior posts and gained broad experience in trade negotiations, customs, development, and financial policies.

  • Housam Najjair

    Author of the book Soldier For a Summer

    Housam Najjair, also known as “Irish Sam”, is an Irish-Libyan writer renowned for his book “Soldier For a Summer”. The book charts Najjair’s journey to Libya and tells an astounding story of how a young Irish-Libyan revolutionary joined the uprising against Gaddafi and become a commander of the National Liberation Army of Libya unit to fight and ultimately secure the liberation of Tripoli and the overthrow of the dictatorship. This is one of the rare books covering the events in the Libyan revolution from the viewpoint of an international combatant.

  • Monique Pariat

    European Commission Director General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO)Monique Pariat is the Director General in charge of overseeing the EU’s coordinated response and assistance to people affected by humanitarian crises and disasters both within the EU and elsewhere in the world. Pariat has worked for the European Commission since 1987, where she served as Deputy Director-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Director for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Director for General Affairs in DG Justice, Freedom and Security.

  • Trita Parsi

    President of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC)

    Dr. Parsi, a distinguished Middle East foreign policy expert, is the President of the largest Iranian-American grassroots organization in the US, the National Iranian American Council. His books Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States and A Single Roll of the Dice - Obama's Diplomacy with Iran have made him an award-winning author. He has taught at Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University.

  • Jeffrey Sachs

    Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Sustainable Development Goals & Professor at the Columbia University

    Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, Special Advisor to the United Nations, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. Sachs is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership, and has twice been named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. Most recently, a survey by The Economist Magazine ranked Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade.

  • Marietje Schaake

    Vice Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the United States, Founding Member of the Intergroup on the Digital Agenda and Trustee of Friends of Europe

    Marietje Schaake, a Dutch politician and Member of the European Parliament, serves on the International Trade committee and is the spokesperson for the ALDE Group on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Schaake also serves on the committee on Foreign Affairs and the subcommittee on Human Rights. She is the founder of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda for Europe. She has been called “Europe’s most wired politician” by the Wall Street Journal, “rising Dutch star” by CNN and was voted one of the “40 MEPs that matter” by Politico.

  • David Schraven

    Founder and Publisher of CORRECT!V

    David Schraven leads the investigative newsroom CORRECT!V as Publisher, the first non-profit investigative newsroom in Germany. For supervising the investigation in downing MH17 over eastern Ukraine he was awarded the Grimme Online Award. CORRECT!V have published their investigations and stories in a variety of media outlets, including the weekly political magazine Spiegel, and the weekly newspapers ZEIT and Der Freitag.

  • Pedro Serrano

    Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy and Crisis Response at the European External Action Service (EEAS)Mr. Serrano serves as Deputy Secretary General at the EEAS since 2015. Before that he was the first to Head the EU delegation to the UN in New York after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. He also served as Principal Advisor on External Affairs to the former President of the European Council Harman Van Rompuy. Since 2000 Serrano has been active in the field of CSDP and he was previously the head of the Directorate for Civilian Crisis Management at the General Secretariat of the Council.

  • Jamie Shea

    Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Division at NATO and Trustee of Friends of Europe

    Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s Spokesman, he was the face of NATO during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the Director of Policy Planning in the private office of former Secretary General Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.

  • Peter Singer

    Strategist and Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation

    Peter Singer is a strategist and senior fellow at New America. In the past, he has worked in the US military, the Defence Intelligence Agency, the FBI, and served as coordinator for Obama’s 2008 campaign's defence policy task force. He is the author of multiple award-winning books, and is considered one of the world's leading experts on 21st century security issues. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people in defence issues, and by Foreign Policy magazine to their Top 100 Global Thinkers List.

  • Maria-Cristina Stepanescu

    Head of Mission of the European Union Mission EUCAP Somalia

    In her current role, Maria-Cristina Stepanescu leads the EU mission tasked with enhancing Somalia’s maritime civilian law enforcement capacity, including counter smuggling and fight against piracy. Stepanescu is a former senior police officer from Romania, and holds extensive experience in the field of civil crisis management, including through participation in various theatres of operations, alongside the UN and the EU, as well as through her activity with the central EU structure for mission planning and leadership in Brussels.

  • Nina Suomalainen

    Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje

    Ambassador Nina Suomalainen from Finland assumed the post of the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje in September 2015. Prior to that she was the Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and she has previously served as a Senior Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and as an Adviser to the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Suomalainen’s extensive international work experience includes working for the EU and the UN as well as for non-governmental organisations.

  • Rob Wainwright

    Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol)

    During his tenure as Director of Europol, Rob Wainwright has ensured Europol’s position in the EU Policy Cycle for serious and organised crime and secured the establishment of the European Cybercrime Centre, the European Counter Terrorism Centre, and the European Migrant Smuggling Centre. Wainwright’s career began as a British intelligence analyst, focusing on counterterrorism and organised crime. He later served as Head of the UK Liaison Bureau at Europol and Director International of the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency.

  • Lassina Zerbo

    Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

    Since assuming his current post, Zerbo has initiated the establishment of Group of Eminent Persons, comprising internationally recognized experts to promote the Treaty’s entry into force, launched the CTBTO Youth Group to engage the younger generation in advancing the aims of the Treaty, and secured China’s resumed technical cooperation with the CTBTO. In recognition of his work in the disarmament and nuclear proliferation field, the Arms Control Association named Zerbo the 2013 “Arms Control Person of the Year”.

Contact info

Mikaela d’Angelo, Programme Manager

Email: mikaela.dangelo@friendsofeurope.org

Tel.: +32 2 893 98 20

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