Interview with Margit Mischkulnig, Head of Department for Space Affairs, Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Vienna The European: Ms Mischkulnig, you are the Head of the “Space and Aviation Technologies” department in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Energy, Environment, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK). An impressive variety…
On 10 March 2023, the European Commission and the EU High Representative presented in a Joint Communication the “EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence” aimed at bridging the gap between space and defence. The Strategic Compass of March 2022, issued one month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, already identified space as a strategic…
by Timo Pesonen, Director-General, DG Defence Industry and Space, European Commission, Brussels In today’s complex and volatile geopolitical environment, space plays a pivotal role. It is crucial to protect the safety and security of our citizens, safeguard the interests of the EU and our Member States and ensure the well-functioning of critical economic sectors. As…
by Gerhard Arnold, publisher and theologican, Middle East correspondent of this magazine, Würzburg The states of the Middle East have experienced considerable upheavals over the past few years, which should in principle lead to a reduction in tensions and greater stability. However, the Gaza war and the de facto state of war between Israel and…
by Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Senior Research Fellow and Development Manager, Robert Schuman Foundation, Paris Although Europe provided a quick, united response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a closer look at Franco-German strategies to stop Putin’s war over the last two years reveals major differences. The Franco-German tandem, that supposedly leads any…
On 25 April 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg received Atlantik-Brücke’s Eric M. Warburg Award in Berlin “for his outstanding dedication to the transatlantic friendship and partnership in turbulent times”. The award was handed over in Berlin by German Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and the laudatory remarks were held by Dr Irina Scherbakowa, co-founder…
by Jørgen Bo Leimand, Naestved The 19th NATO Life Cycle Management Conference (LCM) took place in Brussels on 23-24 January 2024. The conference was attended by more than hundred delegates coming from more than eighteen nations. When you see those figures, you might wonder how can they do this? The LCM community is based on…
Interview with Denis Verret, former Senior Vice-President of EADS (now Airbus) and member of the Council of EuroDéfense-France, Paris, and Colonel (ret.) Ralph Thiele, Managing Director StratByrd Consulting and President of EuroDéfense-Germany, Berlin The European: Gentlemen, in November 2023 you published a joint article in the French newspaper La Tribune in which you wrote that…
by Hartmut Bühl, Paris It is time to face up to the fact that arrangements that have governed European security and defence policy for decades – with the US as the “security provider” guaranteeing nuclear protection and the Europeans as “security consumers” – no longer work. The reflex of standing up to the Americans is…
Interview with Jiří Šedivý, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Brussels Hartmut Bühl: Mr Šedivý, EU governance is complex, especially when it comes to security and defence. Is there a shared understanding in the European Union (EU) institutions of the strategic priorities for a European security and defence architecture? Jiří Šedivý: Yes, there…