The 18th 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 24-25 September 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia.
Preparing for an Uncertain Future:
A Brave New Europe for a Perilous New World?
Uncertain future requires certain action: Europe must fortify its defence readiness. Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has rapidly worsened the transatlantic security environment and revealed a harsh reality about Europe’s defence arrangements. Despite the increased attention paid to defence in recent years, it must be acknowledged that a conventional full-scale war is still very possible, and Europe may well not be ready for it – yet.
While providing military assistance to support Ukraine’s victory remains the most pressing task for NATO and European states, there is also a need to focus more on building Europe’s own defence readiness. The NATO Allies must continue to enhance their collective deterrence and defence posture to meet the military threat posed by Russia, which continues to reform and build its military posture despite waging a large-scale war. Maintaining a strong and effective transatlantic partnership against this threat is as vital as ever, but Europe must be ready to play a more prominent role. The increased capability requirements will challenge the European Allies and their defence industries: more defence investment is imperative and creative solutions will be required. The EU, which continues to develop its role in defence, also has a part to play in enhancing Europe’s defence readiness. The magnitude of the challenges European states face together also underlines the importance of ensuring their societies’ involvement in defence and of motivating their citizens to be actively engaged.
What should be the defence priorities of the states of the Euro-Atlantic community in this new era? How can they turn a renewed awareness of the value of defence into effective action and build a truly capable forward defence to ensure credible deterrence by denial? What must Europe do urgently if it is to take fuller responsibility for the defence of the continent?
Attendance at the conference is by invitation only.
For any enquiries, please write to the organisers at abcd@icds.ee.
