Germany and the V4 Countries: Cooperation in the Security and Defence Area

Germany and the V4 Countries:
Cooperation in the Security and Defence Area

The conference focused on the assessment of the German-V4 co-operation in security and defence. It explored the scope for future collaborative efforts, pinpoint shortcomings that beset the existing formats, and provide guidance on possible remedies, covering both bilateral and multilateral (regional) aspects of defence cooperation, and in particular initiatives conducted in the CSDP framework.

09:00 – 9:15 Welcome Remarks

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asHCz7eInE8[/youtube]

• Werner Böhler, Head of the KAS office in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
• Petr Kratochvíl, Director of the Institute of International Relations Prague

9:15 – 10:45 Panel I: The Political Dialogue between Germany and the V4 Countries

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMQWVExfK2A[/youtube]

Chair: Benjamin Tallis, Co-ordinator of the Centre for European Security of the IIR

• Vladimír Bilčík, Head of EU Program, Slovak Foreign Policy Association
• Anna-Lena Kirch, Research Assistant, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (tbc)
• Lucia Najšlová Editor in Chief, V4 Revue; Researcher, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague
• Eugeniusz Smolar, Expert, Centre for International Relations, Warsaw

11:15 – 13:00 Panel II: The V4-German Partnership in European Defence

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC9fT7o1bFc[/youtube]

Chair: Michal Šimečka, Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations Prague

• Justyna Gotkowska, Senior Fellow, Department for Germany and Northern Europe, Centre for Eastern Studies, Warsaw
• Marian Majer, Head of the Security and Defence Policy Programme, Central European Policy Institute, Bratislava
• Henning Riecke, Head of the Transatlantic Relations Program, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), Berlin

14:15 – 15:45 Panel III: The V4-German Co-operation on Research and Development in the Defence Area and Arms Production

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5KsQMnsalg[/youtube]

Chair: Michal Šimečka, Research Fellow, Institute of International Relations Prague

• Tamás Csiki, Research Fellow, Center for Strategic and Defense Studies in Budapest
• Jakub Hodinář,Director of Industry Cooperation Division, Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic
• Vilém Kolín, Policy Officer Strategic Foresight in the European Synergies & Innovation Directorate, European Defence Agency (EDA), Brussels

16:00 – 18:00 The European Values Think-Tank presents the following public debate: How Do Visegrad Countries React to an Abrupt Change of the Security Environment?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXKJL792qr8[/youtube]

Opening remarks: Martin Stropnický, Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic

Discussants:

• Péter Kríko, Director at the Political Capital Institute
• Roderick Parkes, EU Programme Coordinator at PISM
• Oliver Tamminga, Senior Fellow for International Security, SWP

Moderated by: Jakub Janda, Deputy Director for Public Affairs and Publication, European Values Think-Tank

You can download the programme including other connected events organized by the Institute of International Relations Prague and the European Values Think-tank here.

Photos