Programme - Berlin Security Conference

3. November
4. November

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
Florian Hahn, Minister of State, Federal Foreign Office, Germany

10.00 Keynote

N.N., PwC

10.20 Coffee Break

11.00 Keynote

N.N., Bechtle

11.20 Keynote / Q+A

Andrius Kubilius*, Commissioner for Defence and Space, 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

14.15 PANELS SESSIONS A1 – A9 and SIDE EVENT: “The Future of the Military Reserve”

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

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
N.N., USAREUR-AF
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
N.N., 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

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

Morton Swimmer, Principal Threat Researcher, Forward Threat Research AI and Data, Trend AI

11.50 Keynote

Roberta Metsola*, President, European Parliament

12.10 TAKING STOCK DISCUSSION European Capability Development

Chair: Michael Gahler, MEP

Lieutenant General Stefano Cont, Director for Capability Armament & Planning, 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

14.00 PANELS SESSIONS B1 – B8 and SIDE EVENT: “Drones”, “EPIS Thinktank”

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
N.N., National Security Advisor, 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
N.N., Department 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