For the first time, ELNET-Germany participated in this year’s “Europe’s Strategic Choices” conference hosted by Chatham House in cooperation with the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University. Based in Berlin, the annual conference welcomes high-level decision-makers and representatives from academia and industry to explore contemporary and future security threats in Europe and its neighborhood.
ELNET-Germany brought two prominent speakers from Israel to the conference: Paul Landes, Head of the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) of Israel, reporting directly to the Minister of Defense, and Ambassador Ron Prosor, former Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Head of the Abba Eban Institute of International Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC).
In the breakout-session on “Ghosts of Conflicts Past? The Danger of Conflict in Europe’s wider Neighbourhood and the Challenges of Prevention” Paul Landes addressed Israel’s acute security concerns in the Middle East and their direct implications for Europe. Ambassador Prosor was at the center of discussion during the breakout session on “The Future of Arms Control: Europe’s Contribution to a Global Solution”, in which he emphasized the importance of disarmament treaties as a central element of peacebuilding efforts in conflict regions. At the same time, he stressed that the use of sanctions remains an equally important and necessary tool to reprimand breaches of arms control treaties.
By introducing the Israeli perspective, Ambassador Prosor and Mr. Landes greatly enriched the wide array of discussions around the future course of European politics. The discourse highlighted once again how closely connected Europe and Israel are on the policy level.