Europe’s Arctic test: from ambition to capability
Europe’s security order is entering a new and far more more demanding phase. Russia’s war in Ukraine, great-power rivalry and economic coercion are putting unprecedented pressure on Europe’s ability to deter threats, protect critical infrastructure and operate under crisis conditions. The EU has launched a new generation of defence and industrial tools but ambition is not yet capability. National fragmentation and external dependencies still limit Europe’s ability to act collectively.
The Arctic is emerging as Europe’s newest security stress test. With Greenland at the centre of alliance politics, sovereignty disputes and critical infrastructure risks, Denmark and the Nordic region now sit on the frontline of Europe’s security challenge. This conference asks a simple as well as hard question: what military, technological and industrial capabilities do Europe actually need to defend its Arctic flank and how do we build them?
Programme
8h30 – 9h00: Arrival & Coffee
9h00– 9h05: Welcome
Martin André Dittmer, Managing Partner, Gorrissen Federspiel
9h05– 9h20: Keynote: Nordic Power in Europe
Bo Lidegaard, Historian, Author, and Political Analyst.
9h20– 9h40: Keynote: Towards European Autonomy at last ?
Thierry BRETON, Former European Commissioner for Internal Market (2019-2024)
9h40 – 10h40: European Capabilities and the Role of the EU
Despite rapidly rising defence budgets, Europe continues to face critical shortfalls in key military capabilities, fragmented procurement, and limited industrial scalability. This session examines whether the EU’s expanding defence toolbox can realistically help close these gaps, or whether structural constraints in industry, governance and national preference will continue to undermine collective capability building. Discussions will focus on what Europe can and cannot deliver through EU frameworks, how EU instruments interact with NATO and national planning, and whether current policies are sufficient to support long-term industrial capacity, not just short-term procurement. The panel will also address the strategic implications of continued dependence on non-European suppliers and what this means for Europe’s ambition of greater strategic autonomy in an increasingly contested security environment.
- Morten LØKKEGAARD, Member of the European Parliament
- Didier Gondallier de Tugny, Vice President EU/NATO and Bilateral Cooperation Strategy, MBDA
- Steen HOMMEL, Executive Vice President, Terma
- Christine NISSEN, Chief Analyst, THINK EUROPE
10h40 – 11h00: Coffee Break
11h00 – 11h15: Keynote: From Requirements to Capabilities: Equipping Europe for the High North
Kim Jesper Jørgensen, National Armaments Director, DALO
11h15 – 12h00: The Arctic as a Strategic and Industrial Capability Frontier
The Arctic has rapidly moved from the margins to the centre of European security. Climate change, intensifying strategic competition and the region’s critical geography have made the High North a frontline for European defence and resilience. This session examines how Europe — and Denmark in particular — can build the operational, technological and industrial capabilities required for effective and sustained action in the Arctic. What operational capabilities and industrial skills are needed for persistent presence in the High North? Should Europe adapt its defence-industrial and capability planning to reflect Arctic-specific realities? And how can Denmark and European partners better connect Arctic needs to the development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB)?
- Jana PUGLIERIN, Senior Policy Fellow, Head of, ECFR Berlin
- Pedro ROMERO FERNANDEZ, Head of Operations, DG Defis, European Commission
- Tarja JAAKKOLA, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General – Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments
12h00: End of event
Time & place
Venue: Gorrissen Federspiel, Axel Towers, Axeltorv 2, 1609 Copenhagen
Date: Friday 13th March
Time: 08:30 – 13:00 (light breakfast from 08:30)
Registration
The event is fully booked.
Please contact events@gorrissenfederspiel.com to join the waiting list.