Getting serious about European defence integration

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Peace, Security & Defence

15Apr2025

starts 17:00

ends 18:00

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Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising instability in the Middle East and North Africa and an unpredictable transatlantic alliance expose deep vulnerabilities in Europe’s defence architecture. Considering the precedent of the European Defence Community, the European Union now has the opportunity to implement changes that will create greater shared responsibility in defence and allow its security to be less dependent on the United States.

This conversation with Sylvie Goulard, former French minister of defence and Trustee of Friends of Europe, and Federico Fabbrini, European Young Leader and Full Professor of European Law at Dublin City University (DCU), will present the outcomes of the ALCIDE (Activating the Law Creatively to Integrate Defence in Europe) project and the report “Getting Serious about European Defence Integration: The European Defence Community Precedent”, which seeks to advance bold proposals on the options and constraints of integrating defence in Europe by bringing together thought leaders and scholars from across Europe and beyond. This discussion takes place as part of a two-part series on the future of EU trade and security.

‘What the Chief Says’ events are informal and off-the-record roundtable debates that offer our members the exclusive opportunity to engage directly with a senior decision-maker from a European institution or government and get to the heart of a specific policy issue. These events are geared to be in tune with the interests of our members and are strategically linked to emerging trends within the EU sphere. Allowing us to identify opportunities and challenges in the European Commission’s agenda, these events discuss the ‘nitty gritty’ of policies affecting Europe in the next years and beyond.

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Federico is an Italian academic, who currently teaches at the School of Law & Government at DCU, where he is also the Director of the Law Research Center and established the Brexit Institute to explore the implications of Brexit on government, business and society from an academic and policy perspective. A qualified attorney, he has previously held academic positions in the Netherlands and Denmark and been a visiting scholar in France, Australia, Japan and the United States. Federico has authored five monographs, one textbook and over 100 articles and book chapters on European law and policy, in addition to policy reports at the request of the European Parliament and the Presidency of the Eurogroup. He has also edited numerous books and special issues for journals. In recognition of his contributions to European scholarship, Federico was awarded the European Charlemagne Prize Fellowship and knighted by the President of Italy.

During the pandemic, Sylvie Goulard was appointed by the World Health Organization to serve as a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development in order to ensure that health tops the political agenda. Goulard is the former French minister of the armed forces, the second woman ever to hold the head position and has previously served as member of the European Parliament, where she addressed issues related to fighting poverty and advocating for gender equality in European institutions. Goulard began her career as a diplomat in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.