Jump to main content

Quicklinks

Over 200 Experts in Dialogue: “Who Protects Europe?” Symposium at the Flora

Amid geopolitical upheaval, Europe’s security architecture is facing a fundamental realignment. Against this backdrop, the symposium “Who Protects Europe?” brought together leading voices from academia, diplomacy, and government agencies at Cologne’s Flora on July 9, 2026, to discuss military, diplomatic, economic, and intelligence aspects of ensuring security for the future.

Photo: Fabian Stürtz

Europe's security landscape has undergone a fundamental transformation in recent years. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, shifting geopolitical power dynamics, and hybrid threats are challenging the European community of states to rethink its military capabilities, economic resilience, and institutional robustness. Against this backdrop, the Adenauer School of Government at the University of Cologne and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne  are dedicating their first joint event to security and defense in Europe.

Following a French-language opening panel discussion at the Sorbonne, the German-language symposium took place on July 9, 2026, as a full-day event at the Flora in Cologne. It brought together leading voices from diplomacy, academia, the armed forces, and security institutions to discuss key questions regarding the enhancement of resilience: How can Europe strengthen its strategic capacity to act? What economic and industrial policy consequences arise from the “turning point”? And how can liberal democracies effectively counter hybrid threats?

The event is organized in cooperation with the Franco-German law program of the University of Cologne and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and DFM Alumni e. V. 


A journalistic follow-up report can be found on the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger’s website.


Program:

TimeProgram
10:00–11:00Admission and reception
11:00–11:10

Welcome address

  • Prof. Dr. Axel Ockenfels, Director of the Adenauer School of Government at the University of Cologne
  • Moderation: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
11:10–11:20

Opening remarks

  • Derya Karadag, Deputy Mayor of the City of Cologne
  • Moderation: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
11:20–12:30

Panel "Military capacity to act in the face of Russian aggression"

  • LTG (ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of United States Army Europe and Senior Advisor at FBH Geostrat Consulting
  • Prof. Dr. Marina Henke, Director of the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School
  • Moderation: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media

This panel will be held in English.

12:30–12:45Break
12:45–13:30

Speech with discussion "Regional responsibility for European security"

  • Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs, and Media, and Head of the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Moderator for the discussion panel: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
13:30–14:15Lunch
14:15–15:00

Speech with discussion "Security on the eastern flank as a joint European effort"

  • H.E. Giedrius Puodžiūnas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Moderation of the discussion: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
15:00–15:15Break
15:15–16:30

Panel "Geo-economic and -political effects of the 'Zeitenwende'"

  • Prof. Dr. Gabriel Felbermayr, Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, Member of the Federal Government's Council of Economic Experts
  • Werner Gatzer, former State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG
  • Prof. Dr. Guntram Wolff, Professor of Economics at the Université libre de Bruxelles, Senior Fellow at Bruegel and the Kiel Institute
  • Moderation: Dr. Patrick Bernau, editor responsible for economics at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
16:30–17:00Coffee break
17:00–17:30

Speech with discussion "Public information as an intelligence protection tool"

  • Martin Heinemann, Communications Director and Spokesperson of the German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND)
  • Moderation of the discussion: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
17:30–18:30

Panel "Defense against hybrid attacks on European democracies"

  • Josef Hoch, President of the Independent Control Council
  • Prof. Dr. Markus Ogorek, Director of the Intelligence Services Research Center at the University of Cologne
  • Dr. Maik Pawlowsky, Director at the German Domestic Intelligence Service (BfV) and Head of the Cyber/Counter-Intelligence Division 
  • Moderation: Dr. Helene Bubrowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Table.Media
18:30–20:00Conclusion / Get-together