Upcoming on May 5: 9th CESI European Defence Roundtable (EDRT)

‍CESI’s 9^thEuropean Defence Round Table (EDRT)
4 years of war in Ukraine: Improvements and challenges in EU defence policy since February 2022

5 May 2026 | 12:30-15:30 o’clock | online& in Brussels| in English & German | light lunch 12:30 - 13:00

Register here

Four years after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and amid a widening set of geopolitical crises, the EU is shifting its approach to defence – from coordination to readiness and industrial scaling. This direction is reflected in EU defence planning, including the White Paper for European Defence of March 2025, capability initiatives, and proposals on readiness targets and joint procurement.

Against the backdrop of spillovers from recent conflicts in the Middle East, instability and uncertainty in transatlantic politics, migration pressures, challenges related to energy and critical infrastructure security, NATO burden-sharing and EU preparedness, it is essential that Europe’s strategic autonomy and the defence agenda remains people-centred.

Considering the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, preparedness must also be built on fair working conditions, social dialogue, strong public services and democratic accountability – especially as new defence spending and reforms will have major societal and budgetary implications.

The 9th edition of CESI’s European Defence Round Table (EDRT) in Brussels – with hybrid participation – brings together trade unions, professional associations representing military personnel and civil society organisations with policy makers and institutional representatives to ensure that the public discourse on European preparedness reflects its social and democratic foundations.

Against the background of CESI’ EU co-funded PillACT project, the EDRT will focus in particular on how defence readiness can be pursued consistently with the rights and principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights – including the working lives and rights of the citizen in uniform, the role of social dialogue in the defence sector, public trust and legitimacy, and the wider impact of defence choices on society, public services and public finances.

Key questions to be addressed include:

1. Europe’s security environmentand the ‘White Paper for European Defence/RearmEurope Plan’in practice: How can the EU better translate political commitments intoindustrial capacity, capabilities and deployable readiness?
2. Financial governance: How doesthe EU intend to achieve higher defence spending – through national budgetsunder fiscal rules or EU-level instruments – and how far can EU-levelgovernance better steer procurement and capability choices?
3. Coordination and cooperation: Whatis the role of military and civilian armed forces, social partners, and societyat large in strengthening cooperation, and how can the EU deliver the ReArmEurope/Readiness 2030 package together with them?

With the participation of:

• MEP Tobias Cremer, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Security andDefence
• MEP Michael Gahler, Member of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (tbc)
• Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CESI)
• Emmanuel Jacob, President of the European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL)
• Mary Kaldor, Prof. Emeritus of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (tbc)
• Sebastian Käding, Assessor for Civilian Employees and Government Senior Official at the German Armed Forces Association (DBwV)
• Elena Lazarou, Director General of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
• Fabian Zuleeg, CEO of the European Policy Centre (EPC)

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