10 February at 09:30 – 12:40 GMT
The Council on Geostrategy and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung UK & Ireland are pleased to invite you to attend our closed-door roundtable event, entitled: ‘Extending the Shelter: Developing Europe’s own Nuclear Umbrella’. The event will take place on Tuesday, 10th February, from 09:30 to 12:30, at the In and Out Naval and Military Club, 4 St. James’s Square, London, SW1Y 4JU.
Extending Europe’s nuclear deterrence requires more than just acquiring warheads and delivery systems. It demands a unified, and perhaps integrated, strategic nervous system: shared doctrine, decision-making pathways, planning, financing, and coordination. That, in turn, places a particular burden of responsibility on the E3 nations (UK, Germany, and France). An Important foundation for this task already exists, as bilateral frameworks, including the Trinity House Agreement between the UK and Germany and the Lancaster House Treaties between the UK and France, have established a basis on which deeper European cooperation can be developed. Taken together, these instruments provide a credible platform for a more ambitious, forward-looking European approach to nuclear deterrence. One that is better aligned with the continent’s wider objectives on strategic autonomy.
This roundtable is for key stakeholders from both His Majesty’s (HM) Government and the Federal Government of Germany, as well as academics and think tank officials, and will promote forward-leaning discussions on British-German cooperation in the area of nuclear deterrence, alongside France.
The roundtable will explore how the UK, Germany and France might:
- Cooperate in nuclear deterrence in defence of European security;
- Develop priorities for each side in the field of nuclear deterrence;
- Understand some of the challenges – legal, regulatory, financial and political – which must be overcome by each side;
- Design short-term, mid-term and long-term goals as a pathway for policymakers; and
- Develop policy recommendations for key policy and political stakeholders from each country in order to carry out the pledges in the Kensington Treaty, as well as find ways for the three countries to collaborate on nuclear deterrence.
This event will consist of two sessions. Session one, ‘Europe’s nuclear future: strategic autonomy or continued interdependence’ will focus on Britain and Germany’s current geopolitical position and whether or not European nations need to strengthen their nuclear posture outside of the existing American structures.
Panelists:
- James Cartlidge, Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence;
- Jürgen Hardt, Member of the Bundestag, Foreign Policy Spokesperson of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group;
- Lord De Mauley, Member of the House of Lords, Chair of the International Relations and Defence Committee;
- Moderator: William Freer, Research Fellow (National Security), Council on Geostrategy.
Session two, ‘European Nuclear Deterrence in Practice: Challenges, trade-offs, and opportunities’ will focus on the key policy issues surrounding the development of a more independent European nuclear pillar.
Panelists:
- Dr Karl-Heinz Kamp, Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP);
- Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI);
- Moderator: Viktorija Starych-Samuoliene, Co-Founder, Council on Geostrategy.
More speakers to be announced.
Please note that this event is invitation only.
For more information, please contact [email protected].