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 of the Republic of Lithuania

09.45 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

10.30 Keynote

N.N., PwC
10.50 Coffee Break

11.15 Keynote

N.N., Bechtle

11.35 Keynote / Q+A

Chair: Ms. Kaja Kallas*, Vice President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy EU Commission

12.00 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 JFC Brunssum

12.45 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*, Supreme Allied Commander Europe

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 Kukula*, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces
  • 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 US Army Europe and Africa
  • Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlaváč*, Chief of the Gerneral Staff, Czech Republic
  • General Jennie Carignan*, Chief of Defence Canada

17.45 Keynote

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

18.05 HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE Credible engagement in the South

Chair: Javier Colomina, NATO Special Representative for South, Spain

  • 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

18.50 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*, NATO Secretary General

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 Yvette Cooper MP*, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, United Kingdom
  • Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chairman, NATO Military Committee
  • General Seán Clancy*, Chairman EU Military Committee
  • Éric Béranger, Chief Executive Officer, MBDA
  • N.N., MoD/MoFA Canada
  • Nuno Melo, Minister of Defence, Portugal
  • Airis Rikveilis, State Secretary Ministry of Defence, Latvia

11:00 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 of the European Parliament

12.10 TAKING STOCK DISCUSSION European Capability Development

Chair: Michael Gahler, MEP

  • Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space
  • Lieutenant General André Erich Denk, Chief Executive Director EDA
  • Jean-David Malo, Director for the European Research Area and Innovation at DG RTD, European Commission
  • Tarja Jaakkola, NATO´s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments
  • Dr Christoph Erdmann, Managing Director, Secusmart
  • N.N., Ukraine

13.00 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, Brussels
  • 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