On the 12th of June the European Citizens Association held its annual conference and General Assembly in Brussels hosted by the European Commission combined with a visit organised by the EC Representation in Nicosia. The Annual Conference brought together academics, researchers, professionals and members of the community who enjoyed a series of diverse sessions on many interesting topics.
Following the welcoming to the European Commission, the first session of the Conference focused on ReArm Europe, delivered by Ms Marina Strauss, Press Officer at the Spokesperson’s Service of the European Commission. The next session delivered by Mr. Christian Berger from the Crisis Response Centre (CRC) of the European External Action Service (EEAS) focused mostly on the work of the Crisis Response Centre offering a detailed and thorough explanation of its various tasks and collaborations.
Mr. Marcus Houben, Policy Officer at the department of Coordination of Foreign, Security & Defence Policy Implementation (incl. Political & Security Committee) of the Secretariat General followed, with his presentation on the White Paper on defence. His presentation provided an explanation of the gaps identified in the paper and its role in policy-making. The last session of the Conference delivered by Mr Christos Komninos from the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA), offered a detailed explanation of the EU mechanisms and policies for MENA.
The day concluded with the General Assembly of the ECA with the members attending online and in person. The ECA President Mr Symeon Zambas, chaired the session, including the voting of the new management board of the ECA.
Importantly, prior to the Annual Conference a survey took place, to identify the preferred topics of EU Security and Deference policies to be discussed at the Conference. Indicatively, the community was asked to evaluate the need for a stronger European defence, or whether more integration of national armed forces is required to make the EU more effective. The survey shed more light on what Europeans perceive as the most important threats of the EU at the moment, as well as their current priorities as Europeans.
The Annual Conference 2025 fostered interesting discussions and critical dialogue on the future of European security and defence policies, highlighting the importance of collaborative policymaking, institutional transparency, and civic engagement.
