Online discussion on security policy in Europe

The EUROPE DIRECT office in Bocholt invites interested citizens to an online discussion on Thursday, 2 November. The topic is European security policy. The discussion will start at 7 pm. Participation is free of charge.

Registrations are accepted at https://ogy.de/Sicherheit-2023.

"Security policy in Europe - on the way to strategic autonomy?" is the online discussion event on 2 November. Interested citizens are invited to join in the discussion and ask questions via Zoom. The experts are Dr. Sascha Arnautovic, Siebo Janssen, Jochen Leyhe will moderate. Registrations are accepted by the EUROPE DIRECT Aachen for all participating EUROPE DIRECTs.

The topic

Europe is in the midst of a "turning point" with Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine. Many things that were still true in the last decades have changed. We ask ourselves: How will we in Europe defend our model of liberal democracy and our values of freedom in the future?

The fact is that Europe can no longer - as it once did until the beginning of the 1990s - rely solely on "big brother USA", which in case of doubt would ensure Europe's security with its enormous military power. The USA is increasingly turning its gaze towards the Asia-Pacific and competing more and more with its system rival China, which is once again challenging the Western world politically and economically.

How is Europe positioning itself? What about the French nuclear force, which will certainly not be placed in European service? What role will Germany play in the new European security architecture? Will the Federal Republic of Germany fulfil its role as a shaping and leading power in Europe in the future?

In view of the current situation, we will also take a look at the recent escalation in the Middle East and ask what implications and consequences this has for Europe and the war in Ukraine.

The experts

These experts will discuss the future European security architecture with the participants:

• Dr. Sascha Arnautović, foreign policy expert and security policy expert of the Kölner Forum für Internationale Beziehungen und Sicherheitspolitik e. V. (KFIBS) and the Cologne Section of the Gesellschaft für Sicherheitspolitik e. V. (GSP).
• Drs. Siebo M. H. Janssen M.A., political scientist, historian and EU expert

The virtual event will be moderated by Jochen Leyhe.

The organisers

The EUROPE DIRECT Centres Aachen, Bocholt, Dortmund, Duisburg-Niederrhein, Düsseldorf, Essen, Kreis Gütersloh and Kreis Steinfurt.