The 19th Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD), organised by the International Centre for Defence and Security and the Estonian Ministry of Defence, will take place on
23-24 September 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia
Enemy at the Gates: Turning Europe into a Fortress
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the strained state of transatlantic relations have highlighted vulnerabilities in Europe’s defences and underscored the need for rapid and decisive action to secure the continent.
This year’s ABCD, entitled “Enemy at the Gates: Turning Europe into a Fortress”, will focus on shoring up the defence of Europe in an uncertain security environment. Our discussions will spotlight:
- The measures NATO Allies and EU Member States must take to bolster military readiness and strengthen NATO’s collective defence
- The prospects for effective European cooperation in capability development to fill existing military capability gaps and adapt to a new era of warfare
- The need for increased investment in defence, and potential avenues for financing common defence efforts
- The importance of resilience against the hybrid threats, cyber warfare, and disinformation campaigns that undermine European and global security
- The opportunities for smaller states to leverage innovative and asymmetric technologies and strategies to achieve decisive advantages on the battlefield
- The motivations, methods, and new tactics employed by adversaries to conduct sabotage attacks, and the crucial role of information warfare in amplifying these threats
- And more…
Since 2006, ABCD has provided a high-level forum for intellectual debate on transatlantic, European, and regional defence issues amongst policymakers, military officials, academics, analysts and media representatives. We would be delighted to have you join us for this year’s edition of ABCD which, for the first time, will be held in the framework of Estonian Defence Week.
Tentative agenda
Subject to change
Tuesday, 23 September
16:00-18:00 Pre-events
18:30-20:00 Opening session: keynote speeches/keynote panel
20:00-21:30 Networking dinner
21:30-23:00 Night owls’ session
Wednesday, 24 September
08:00-09:00 Breakfast breakout sessions
09:15-10:30 Session one
10:30-11:00 Break
11:00-12:15 Session two
12:15-13:15 Lunch
13:15-14:30 Session three
14:30-15:00 Break
15:00-16:15 Session four
16:15-16:45 Closing Session: way forward
Attendance at the conference is by invitation only.
For any enquiries, please write to the organisers at abcd@icds.ee.
