Security, resilience and competitiveness: Europe’s industrial agenda for a new geopolitical era

As Europe strengthens its security and defence capabilities, competitiveness and resilience have become inseparable from the ability to build a strong industrial base and trusted international partnerships.

Following the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara and the publication of BusinessEurope’s paper “A European readiness, preparedness and defence strategy”, we are pleased to host a high-level discussion bringing together policymakers and business leaders to explore how Europe can reinforce its defence industrial capacity, deepen cooperation with allies and like-minded partners, and strengthen its long-term competitiveness.

23 September 2026, 14.00-17.00 CET

Moderated by: Danny McCoy, Chair of BusinessEurope Security and Defence Task Force and CEO of Ibec

14.00-15.00	Welcome Markus J. Beyrer, Director General, BusinessEurope Opening address Klaus Holse, Vice President of BusinessEurope in charge of Security and Defence Keynote address Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission Keynote address Sean Clancy, Chairman of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC)
15.00-15.45	Panel I: Defence and security as drivers of competitiveness How can Europe leverage security and defence to strengthen its competitiveness by scaling its industrial base and generating wider economic spill-over effects?
15.45-16.00	Short coffee break
16.00-16.45	Panel II: NATO, Industrial Partnerships and international cooperation How can Europe strengthen its competitiveness and industrial base through deeper cooperation with NATO Allies and global partners?
16.45-17.00	Closing remarks

Registration

Deadline for registration: 16 September 2026, noon

Kindly note that due to the limited number of seats, registration does not guarantee participation. Participation is conditional on receiving confirmation by mail.

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