Raising awareness on European Security and the EU White Paper for Defence

Published in March by the European Commission, the White Paper highlights the security challenges facing European countries and proposes assistance to Member States in closing capability gaps.

Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne T.D. gave the opening address. 

Describing security as the “new Brexit”, Minister Byrne spoke of the significant increase in malicious hybrid actions against the EU, underlining that hybrid threats and cyber-attacks do not respect borders. He added that no state acting alone can address the entirety of existing and emerging security challenges.

Minister Byrne said

 “Every EU Member State, including Ireland, has its own nuance when it comes to security and defence [...] but we share a universal interest in securing the EU, and in defending its interests and citizens. To put it simply, Ireland and the EU are worth defending.”

Guillaume de la Brosse, Head of Unit for Defence Policy and Innovation at the European Commission presented the White Paper and the European Defence Readiness 2030 initiative, including the €150 billion SAFE instrument for Member States to invest in the strategic priority areas agreed by leaders in the European Council. These include maritime underwater capability, critical infrastructure protection, AI and Cyber.

Guillaume was joined by Brigadier General (Retired) Tony Cudmore, Brigid Laffan, Professor Emeritus at the European University Institute and Dr. Alice Ekman, Research Director at the EU Institute for Strategic Studies for a panel discussion moderated by Catherine Day, former Secretary-General of the European Commission.  This was followed by a lively Q&A session with the audience both in person and online.

The event can be watched back here.