This 'Next Steps' seminar will take place on 15-16 October 2014 in The Hague. It focusses specifically on defence cooperation between the Benelux countries and the Netherlands and Germany and follows up of the 2013 seminar 'Bold Steps in Multinational Cooperation'.

The event will bring together senior policy staff and military from partner countries, as well as senior representatives from EU, NATO and selected thinktanks. The aim of the meeting is to produce conclusions and recommendations on how to deal with the issues challenging the realisation of deeper defence integration in clusters. 

Background

The need for closer military cooperation has been identified, both at the national and international level. Frontrunners, such as Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands intend to deepen their military cooperation in the coming years. NATO and the EU are promoting defence cooperation between their member states. Both organisations have taken initiatives to coordinate and facilitate the joint development of new military capabilities. However, deeper defence cooperation requires the clarification of many issues (sovereignty, decision-making, role of parliaments) as well as procedural and technical topics, including defence planning and procurement.

Seminar programme

The seminar will consist of a plenary part with three keynote speeches followed by three working groups which should produce concrete ideas and recommendations.

Working group I looks at the politics of deeper defence cooperation, while Working group II focuses on the planning requirements of deeper defence cooperation. Working group III concentrates on the EU/EDA and NATO as facilitators and coordinators.

The seminar will follow the ‘Chatham House Rule’. Ahead of the meeting, the organisers intend to circulate input papers that will inform and guide discussions during the three parallel working group sessions.

Participation

Attendance to the seminar is by personal invitation only.

Report

After the seminar Clingendael will publish a report on the topic with conclusions and recommendations.