3. November

08.00 Opening of the Exhibition / Registration

08.30 Announcements, National Anthems

08.45 Welcome to the Congress

Dr Eva-Charlotte Proll, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Behörden Spiegel & Dr Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Member of the European Parliament and Congress President BSC

09.00 OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE - Opening Ceremony

Gitanas Nausėda, President, Republic of Lithuania

09.20 INTERVIEW / Q+A BY THE AUDITORIUM European NATO pillar towards safe Europe and safer world

Chair: Dr Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Member of the European Parliament and Congress President BSC

  • Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lithuania
  • Dr Johann Wadephul*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany

10.00 Keynote

N.N., PwC
10.20 Coffee Break

11.00 Keynote

N.N., Bechtle

11.20 Keynote / Q+A

Chair: Kaja Kallas*, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President, European Commission

11.50 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE Deterrence through Vigilance: How to contain the Russian interference

Chair: Dr Eva-Charlotte Proll, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Behörden Spiegel

  • Elina Valtonen*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Finland
  • Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Latvia
  • Jean-Noël Barrot*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France
  • H.E. Ambassador Dr Detlef Wächter, German Permanent Representative to NATO
  • Andrij Sybiha*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine
  • Lieutenant General Remigijus Baltrėnas, Director General of the International Military Staff, NATO
  • General Ingo Gerhartz, Commander, Joint Force Command Brunssum

13.00 Lunchtime
15.45 Coffee Break

16.15 Balancing Immediate Needs with Long-Term Sovereignty: Hard Choices for European Defence

Dr Michael Schoellhorn, CEO, Airbus Defence and Space

16.35 Keynote & Q+A

General Alexus G. Grynkewich, Air Chief Marshall Sir John Stringer KCB CBE, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO

17.00 LEADERS’ TALK OF CHIEFS OF DEFENCE “The Central Region as the litmus test for a credible Defence”

Chair: Admiral (ret.) Rob Bauer, former Chairman, NATO Military Committee

  • General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, Chief of Defence, Lithuania
  • General Wiesław Kukuła*, Chief of the General Staff, Poland
  • General Carsten Breuer, Chief of Defence, Germany
  • Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton*, Chief of Defence Staff, United Kingdom
  • Lieutenant General Kevin D. Admiral*, Incoming Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe and Africa
  • Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlaváč*, Chief of the Gerneral Staff, Czech Republic
  • General Jennie Carignan*, Chief of Defence, Canada

18.00 A positive Vision for Mission Readiness in an Overextended Environment

Boris Hecker, Managing Director and Head of Public Sector & Defense, Atos Germany

18.20 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE Credible engagement in the South

Chair: Javier Colomina, Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, NATO

  • Antonio Tajani*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy
  • José Manuel Albares Bueno*, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spain
  • Paulo Rangel, Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Portugal
  • Admiral George M. Wikoff*, Commander, Joint Force Command Naples
  • Admiral Emil Eftimov, Chief of Defence, Bulgaria
  • General Gheorghita Vlad*, Chief of Defence, Romania
  • Dr Enver Hoxhaj, Member of Parliament and former Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Kosovo

19.20 Buffet & Networking

BSC STARTUP CHALLENGE, 3 November 2026

16:00 Introduction
16:05 Setting the Scene
16:15 Pitch & Evaluation

4. November

08.00 Opening of the Exhibition

08.30 OPENING OF THE 2ND CONFERENCE DAY WITH DISCUSSION/Q+A/MOU

Boris Pistorius, Minister of Defence, Germany & Robertas Kaunas, Minister of Defence, Lithuania

09.20 Keynote

N.N., Siemens

09.50 Keynote and Q+A by Auditorium

Mark Rutte*, Secretary General, NATO

10.15 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE “Europe and NATO: Together Strong”

Chair: Dr Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Member of the European Parliament and Congress President BSC

  • H.E. Matthew G. Whitaker, U.S. Ambassador to NATO
  • The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP*, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, UK
  • Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chairman, NATO Military Committee
  • General Sean Clancy*, Chairman, EU Military Committee
  • Éric Béranger, Chief Executive Officer, MBDA
  • N.N., MoD/MoFA Canada
  • Nuno Melo, Minister of National Defence, Portugal
  • Airis Rikveilis, State Secretary Ministry of Defence, Latvia

11:15 Coffee Break

11.30 Al Didn’t Just Change Security it Changes the Enemy

Dr Morton Swimmer, Trend AI

11.50 Keynote

Roberta Metsola*, President, European Parliament

12.10 TAKING STOCK DISCUSSION European Capability Development

Chair: Michael Gahler, MEP

  • Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission
  • Lieutenant General Andre Erich Denk, Chief Executive Director, European Defence Agency
  • Jean-David Malo, Director for the European Research Area and Innovation at DG RTD, European Commission
  • Tarja Jaakkola, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments, NATO
  • Dr Christoph Erdmann, Managing Director, Secusmart
  • Oleg Dunda, Member of Parliament of Ukraine

13.15 Lunch time

15.30 INTERVIEW / Q+A BY THE AUDITORIUM

Chair: Reinhard Wolski, Major General (ret) and Chairman BSC

  • N.N., Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan
  • N.N., Ministry of Defence, Taiwan

16.00 Keynote

N.N., ELT Group

16.20 WINNER-PITCH – START-UP CHALLENGE PRESENTATION

16.30 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE Harmonizing Europe and Indo-Pacific Priorities

Chair: Dr Tobias Lindner, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (ret.)

  • N.N., State Secretary or Political Director, Japan
  • N.N., State Secretary or Political Director, Republic of Korea
  • N.N., State Secretary or Political Director, Australia
  • Erik Kurzweil, Managing Director for Asia and Pacific, EEAS
  • Robert Peters, Acting Director of the Allison Center of National Security, Heritage Foundation

17.30 Handover Ceremony to the next Partner Nation

17.50 Closing Session and Farewell

Chairman BSC & Congress President
18.15 End of Congress

BSC STARTUP CHALLENGE, 4 November 2026

11:15 Introduction
11:20 Setting the Scene
11:30 Pitch & Evaluation
16:20 Winner Pitch on the main stage

*speakers requested