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Event | 4 February 2026

ELN at MSC 2026: United We Stand? Europe, the US and NATO

Europe NATO Transatlantic relations ELN

Europe is investing more seriously in its own security and defence as confidence US predictability is being openly questioned. Whether this strengthens or strains NATO goes to the heart of Europe’s security debate and the transatlantic alliance.

At this year’s Munich Security Conference, the ELN will host a panel examining how real concerns about the transatlantic drift actually are, and what alliance unity means in practice when threat perceptions, domestic politics, and strategic priorities do not fully align. Is Europe’s growing ambition a sign of declining confidence in the United States, or a necessary and overdue evolution? Where are the risks of misinterpretation between allies, and what would genuinely undermine trust?

Senior transatlantic figures will reflect on the political, parliamentary, and institutional constraints shaping defence choices across Europe, and on how Europe can take on greater responsibility without weakening NATO. The discussion will close by looking ahead to the concrete signals that will matter most in the coming months.

Speakers

Baroness Catherine Ashton, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Labour politician

Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO

Dr Norbert Röttgen, Deputy Chair of the CDU Group and former Chair of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee

Moderator
Robert Ondrejcsák, Executive Director, European Leadership Network; former State Secretary, Slovak Ministry of Defence

Event details

Location: Café Luitpold, Palm House event space, Brienner Str. 11, 80333
Date: Saturday 14 February
Time: 18:00 to 19:30 (doors open at 17:45)

For press and media please contact [email protected]

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