Defence and Dialogue in Eastern Europe took place in July 2018 and was a five days forum with panel sessions, practical exercises and study visits. It was addressed to young professionals and included topics such as NATO–EU relations, cyber security and countering disinformation.

The panel on “NATO-EU relations” was led by Mr. James Mackey, Head of Euro-Atlantic and Global Partnership, PASP Division at the NATO HQ in Brussels, Mr. Samuel Vesterby, Managing Director at the European Neighbourhood Council in Belgium, Mrs. Antonia Colibaşanu, Senior Analyst at Geopolitical Futures, Mrs. Violeta Nicolescu, Head of NATO and EU Policy Office of the Defence Policy and Planning Department, Ministry of National Defence of Romania.

The dialogue highlighted the importance of cooperation between NATO and the European Union at an institutional level from several angles. Also, speakers articulated the need of strengthening the capacity of resilience when allies are faced with crisis situations in which a fast response is critical. Furthermore, this panel centered on the impact of the image of stability and control on the security environment, as well as on the importance of projecting stability not only on the European territory, but also in its immediate neighbourhood.

The panel on “Cyber Security” was held by Mr. Lance James, Chief Scientist in the Research and Development Unit at Flashpoint in the US, Mrs. Kimberly Therese Zenz, Atlantic Council Fellow, DCSO Engineering Security in Germany, and Mrs. Virginia Mărăcine, Ph.D., professor at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies and Member in the National Council for Ethics in Scientific Research and Innovation.

The session focused on the types of security risks that both public institutions and private entities have been exposed to along with the globalization of the business environment and the evolution of technology. Moreover, even though the risk of seeing work systems compromised cannot be entirely eliminated due to the fast and constant evolution of the threat factors, the discussion pointed out methods to significantly diminish these vulnerabilities, by utilizing all the communication channels in certain parameters established by the IT experts.

The third panel of the forum, on “Countering Disinformation”, was led by Mr. Radu Magdin, Senior Analyst, CEO of Smartlink Communications and Member of the NATO Emerging Leaders Working Group (Atlantic Council), Mr. Andreas Umland, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Ukraine, and Mrs. Iulia-Sabina Joja, Ph.D., Consultant on Euro-Atlantic Security and Defense issues at Global Focus in Romania.

Both Mr. Magdin, as well as Mr. Umland, pointed out the high susceptibility of the general public to altering its perspective according to the narrative to which it is exposed to. Furthermore, Mr. Umland brought forward the Russian Federation’s alleged financing of organizations active in the public space, as well as media channels to promote its strategic interests. This stressed the necessity of NATO allies to adopt a similar approach in order to create a balance for the public and counteract the negative effects of the unilateral vision promoted by the Russians on ensuring popular support for their activities.

Likewise, Mrs. Joja followed up by underlining the necessity to raise awareness on the challenges created by the Russian-born systematic disinformation campaigns at a political level, as well as on the necessity of creating a common system to address the potential effects said campaigns could have on our society. Moreover, the speaker highlighted the underfunding of common bodies on a NATO level, and noted the role of the private sector in signaling the necessity of international cooperation on this matter.

The forum wrapped up with a series of conclusions that summarized the interactive debates and dynamic discussions, focusing on the need of enhanced cooperation between the EU and NATO, as well as on the further development of the cooperation between member states and neighboring states to ensure collective peace and security.