Académie Notre Europe #5 – European Defence and Europe’s Enlargement Process

Académie Notre Europe – Session 5: European Defence and Europe’s Enlargement Process

The fifth session of the Notre Europe Academy was dedicated to European defense and enlargement. In a context where war is at the EU’s doorstep and the historic alliance between the EU and the United States no longer exists, Europeans today seem to be demonstrating a willingness to recommit to the cause of a common defense. But how can the ambitions expressed on this subject, which is closely tied to the sovereignty of each state, be realized in practice? In this context, this session also gave us the opportunity to look eastward and examine the EU’s enlargement to the Western Balkans and the challenges associated with it.

During the day, participants first received a live update on international affairs from the Munich Security Conference, presented by Sylvie Matelly, Director of the Jacques Delors Institute.

The morning continued with a roundtable discussion on the development of a European defense system, balancing political will and industrial capabilities, featuring Louise Souverbie, a researcher at IRIS and head of the Europe Program, and Pierre Haroche, a defense research fellow at the Jacques Delors Institute.

A third segment explored the prospects for European Union enlargement, featuring a presentation by Lukáš Macek, head of the Jacques Delors Institute’s Greater Europe Center.

The afternoon was devoted to a presentation on European affairs in the Senate by Xavier Moal, head of the European Affairs Committee’s office, before concluding with a tour of the Senate.