“Strengthening Baltic Societal Resilience and Military Defence”
In place of the normal Symposium, CIOR is co-sponsoring with the International Centre for Defence & Security, the Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD) which is a one-day event entitled ”Strengthening Baltic Societal Resilience and Military Defence” on Wednesday 30 September in Tallinn. Speakers include senior officers and politicians from Estonia, US, UK, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and proceedings will be opened by the President of Estonia.
Time and location
- Wednesday, 30th September, 2020 ( 8:00 – 17:30)
- Venue: virtual attendance
In order to participate CIOR late summer congress 2020 delegate ticket must be bought.
Discussion points
- the initial lessons identified for nations, NATO and the EU from the COVID-19 crisis and their relevance to collective defence, national defence and societal resilience;
- different examples of military support to civil authorities during the COVID-19 crisis;
- the role of reserves, including members of voluntary defence organisations, in the foreseeable security environment addressing both military threats and civil emergencies, such as the COVID-19 crisis;
- how the US and NATO Allies could effectively deter and defend against Russian aggression;
- what options for capability and force structure changes the Baltic states could consider to enhance their ability to deter and defend against Russian aggression as part of an integrated NATO approach;
- the extent to which reserves can meet the higher qualitative requirements placed on our forces;
- the impact of societal change, including population mobility, since the end of the Cold War on the credibility of force structures that rely on reserves;
- innovative ways in which the defence forces can draw upon the whole-of-society resources in a military crisis.
Preliminary agenda
Wednesday, 30 September
08:00-09:00 Registration & coffee
09:00-10:15 Opening Session: Welcoming & keynote speeches
The welcoming speech by H.E. Kersti KALJULAID, President of Estonia
Keynote speeches:
Prof. João GOMES CRAVINHO, Minister of National Defence of Portugal
Jüri LUIK, Minister of Defence of Estonia
Discussion
10:15-10:45 Coffee break
10:45-12:15 Session One: The security and defence policy implications of COVID-19
Panellists:
Baroness GOLDIE, Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom
Elena GÓMEZ CASTRO, Defence Policy Director, Ministry of Defence of Spain
Jan-Olof LIND, State Secretary, Ministry of Defence of Sweden
12:15-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Session Two: Deterrence and defence in the Baltic Sea region
Panellists:
Janne KUUSELA, Director-General of Defence Policy Department, Ministry of Defence of Finland
General Jörg VOLLMER, Commander Joint Forces Command Brunssum
Lieutenant General Christopher G. CAVOLI, Commanding General U.S. Army Europe
Vaidotas URBELIS, Defence Policy Director, Ministry of Defence of Lithuania
15:00-15:30 Coffee break
15:30-17:00 Session Three: The role of reserves in the current and likely future security environments
Panellists:
Mark LANCASTER, former Minister for Armed Forces and Brigadier in the Army Reserve, United Kingdom
17:00-17:20 Closing Session
Concluding remarks by the organisers