May 27, 2025 / 18:30 - 20:00 Uhr /

In view of growing geopolitical tensions and a changing transatlantic security architecture, the question of an independent European defense is becoming increasingly important. The Franco-German Strategic Dialogue is therefore dedicated to a particularly explosive topic: Can and does France want to play a leading role in European security with its nuclear arsenal? The discussion will focus on the option of a European nuclear umbrella under French leadership - as a supplement or even alternative to NATO's nuclear umbrella. Among other things, the question of how realistic a European nuclear strategy is in principle and what political, legal and strategic hurdles would have to be overcome will have to be clarified. At the same time, Germany's position on such a paradigm shift in security policy must be debated. In the context of increasing global rivalries, the important issue of the need for global nuclear disarmament must not be forgotten. Can an expansion of European defensiveness and strategic de-escalation efforts go hand in hand at a global level?

Eröffnung

Dr. Matthieu Osmont

Leiter des Instituts und des Büros für Hochschulkooperation NRW

Discussion

PD Dr. Antje Nötzold

Research assistant at the Chair of International Politics at Chemnitz University of Technology, Fellow at CASSIS

Dr. Florian Galleri

Historian and expert on French nuclear deterrence, member of the European Neighborhood Council (ENC) 

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Götz Neuneck

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Chairman of the Council of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs; Co-Chairman of the Association of German Scientists; Spokesman of the Physics and Disarmament Working Group of the German Physical Society

Moderation

Andreas Noll