Defence Industrial Highlights: DEFIS representatives attend key events across Europe

As part of the European Commission’s ongoing commitment to bolster Europe’s defence capabilities and foster innovation in the defence industry, colleagues participated in three significant events over the past week. These engagements underscored DEFIS’ active role in shaping Defence industrial policy, and ensuring the security and resilience of the European Union before a rapidly evolving global security landscape.

European Angel Investment Summit, Brussels (BE)

On 15^th-16^th October, and within the context of the yearly European Angel Investment Summit, the Defence Tech Investor Forum took place in Brussels, bringing together investors, policymakers, and SMEs. The event, sponsored by the European Commission, plays a central role in providing a platform for entrepreneurs to access funding an, more generally, network with potential investor and policymakers. At this year’s edition, Nynke Tigchelaar (HoU A3) represented DG DEFIS, delivering an address during the plenary session focusing on Commission’s initiatives and our support of defence innovation.  

Romanian firm Orbotix won the pitching showcase and received tickets to attend Slush on November and pitch with InvestEU. This defence tech startups works on AI applications for drones in Spain and Romania and openly engages in military applications. Furthermore, Jacopo Losso, Director General of EBAN, launched the “EBAN Defence Community”. The creation of such a network is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the needs of the defence sector within the investor ecosystem.

4^th European Defence and Security Conference, Brussels (BE)

The 4^th EDSC, held in the Egmont Palace on the 16^th of October, gathered industry leaders, policymakers, academics, and government officials. DG DEFIS was represented by both Director-General Timo Pesonen and Director Francois Arbault, who participated in panels discussing “Setting the course through global insecurity, political renewal and budgetary constraints” and “EDIS: Building on lessons learned for effective EU programmes”. 

During the panel, Director-General Pesonen highlighted the EU’s “unwavering support for Ukraine” and our determination in “fighting for our collective freedom”, as well as the need to further work on ensuring coherence between differing standards to bring added value in supporting the Member States’ industrial capacities to deliver defence capabilities. Director Arbault stressed the importance of reducing market fragmentation and streamlining procurement processes to ensure that Europe’s defence sector remains globally competitive. 

Asides from keynote addresses by HRVP Borrell and Mr Pevkur, Minister for Defence of the Republic of Estonia, the conference also featured colleagues Anne Fort (HoU A1), taking part in a panel discussing “Financing innovation and supporting the value chain” and Gustaf Winroth (dHoU A3) taking part in a session discussing “Paving the path to sovereign Quantum Computing, AI and Cloud solutions”.

Future Forces Forum, Prague (CZ)

On 17^th October, as a part of the Future Forces Forum, the Disruptive Technologies, Security & Defence Innovations Conference took place in Prague, addressing, among other topics, the implementation and associated practices of disruptive technologies in defence and security. Featuring over 320 exhibitors from 35 countries, security and defence applications were displayed in the Forum. 

Our colleague Kristine Rudzite-Stejskala (Unit A3) was a speaker within the panel devoted to “Creating and Implementing Innovations in Security and Defence – International Perspective”, sharing insights into the Commission’s efforts to strengthen Europe’s capabilities through enhanced cooperation between Member States. In her speech, our colleague underscored the Commission’s position, focusing  on not only ensuring preparedness, but also fostering a robust and forward-thinking defence ecosystem. Indeed, the Conference presented the opportunity to recognise the long path ahead of us in continuing to improving our support to defence innovation. Improvement iterations in innovative technologies on the Ukrainian battlefield, for example, served to illustrate the necessity to rapidly adapt to new requirements and a constantly changing reality on the ground. 

The participation and/or partnering of DEFIS in these events reflects the European Commission’s commitment to building a stronger, more secure EU, prepared to face emerging threats in an uncertain world and working relentlessly to ensure collaboration and innovation across the continent.