MUNICH: European leaders convened the first European Defence Townhall in Munich on Thursday, urging citizens to reckon with a rapidly changing security landscape marked by war, cyber threats and geopolitical rivalry.
The inaugural European Defence Townhall, an open forum that enabled citizens to engage with Europe’s decision-makers, set the stage for the Munich Security Conference (MSC).
The eve of the conference, even in terms of the weather, reflected the tone of a gathering taking place in ‘a moment of profound uncertainty’.
The Townhall was opened by Helga Maria Schmid, ambassador for global affairs at the German Federal Foreign Office, president of the European Institute of Peace and vice-president of the Foundation Council of the MSC.
The following were the speakers at the Townhall: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Latvia Baiba Braze; Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, The Greens/EFA Parliamentary Group, European Parliament Sergey Lagodinsky; Member of Parliament, Parliament of Lithuania Dovile Sakaliene; former Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius; Women Parliamentarians Programme 2024; and Head of Stockholm Office and Director for Northern Europe, Atlantic Council Anna Wieslander. It was moderated by Georg Mascolo, journalist and Dean of the Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance.
Setting the tone of the Townhall, Ambassador Schmid spoke about the MSC’s tradition of bringing conversations “out of closed rooms and into the public sphere”. Reflecting on Europe’s defence posture in the post–cold war era, she noted, “For decades after the end of the cold war, European defence was shaped by what many called the peace dividend”, but added that this is no longer the case.
“One thing is clear: defence can no longer be defined solely through the military domain. Hybrid threats, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure -- from energy grids to undersea cables -- have expanded our understanding of what security actually means. In an era of shifting alliances, technological disruptions and resource competition, Europe must be able to defend itself and protect its citizens, to project stability in its neighbourhood and beyond”.
Ambassador Schmid also emphasised that sovereignty “does not mean isolation, but it means the ability to make independent choices”.
Mascolo, journalist and moderator of the Townhall, opened the discussion with a quote from a European diplomat: “We have the diagnosis, we have the prescription, but we haven’t gone to the pharmacy”.
The themes in the Townhall echoed the need for Europe to start thinking a decade ahead while keeping parallel processes in mind, as the speakers noted that Beijing and the Kremlin are closely watching Europe. The speakers emphasised that Europeans are one society and must reflect that unity in their actions.
With a focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine, Wieslander stated that, while Russia is militarily engaged in Ukraine, it is waging a hybrid war against Europe in what is ostensibly a peacetime setting.
