Common security and defence policy

After the super election year 2024, German European policy is facing major challenges and profound upheavals. With regard to European foreign, security and trade policy, the new German government must become proactive.

Due to the high geopolitical relevance of the region, the GNBF plays a key role in promoting dialogue. The focus in 2024 was on central topics such as transatlantic relations, critical infrastructure, EU enlargement and social polarisation.

Academics and policy makers came together to discuss the future of EU integration, reforms, global partnerships and internal threats at this year’s IEP Annual Conference on September 19-20, in Berlin.

What is the German position on Ukraine's NATO membership and what will defence cooperation with Ukraine look like in the future? These and other questions were discussed at the Breakfast Debate on 5 July 2024 in Kyiv.

What is the current status of the German-Ukrainian security cooperation and what legal options are there for confiscating frozen Russian assets and making them available to Ukraine? These questions were discussed in Kyiv on 25 April 2024.

What consequences did the Russian occupation have for the people of Crimea, for Ukraine and for the entire region? These challenges were discussed at the 3rd German-Ukrainian Breakfast Debate in cooperation with the Center for Liberal Modernity and Ukrainian Prism.

Policy-makers and experts from Baltic and Nordic member states and Germany discussed the challenges and implications of the EU’s new geopolitical reality across security and defence, climate and energy, migration and asylum, and EU China policy.