Live Stream: Policy Speech by the Minister on the National Security Strategy

Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht will give a speech on security and defence policy and the upcoming National Security Strategy on Monday, 12 September. A live stream of the speech will be broadcast on the bmvg.de website starting at 10 am.

The Federal Government is currently preparing a draft of the National Security Strategy. It will be the first document of its kind for Germany. The Bundeswehr and the Ministry of Defence will foreseeably contribute significant content to this new security policy document. The Federal Ministry of Defence plays a pivotal role in the drafting of this strategy. The government parties pledged to issue a National Security Strategy in their coalition agreement concluded in late 2021.

Russia’s brutal and illegal attack on Ukraine early this year has shaken the European peace architecture to the core. The military invasion and its consequences for European security underline the significance of a National Security Strategy. Germany and its allies have already responded to this threat with comprehensive military measures – most prominently by reinforcing NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization’s eastern flank. The North Atlantic Alliance only recently adopted a new Strategic Concept at the NATONorth Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Madrid, while the European Union approved its Strategic Compass on Security and Defence.

With an eye to the preparation of the National Security Strategy, Minister Lambrecht will now provide an assessment of the situation from a defence policy perspective. Her policy speech will be part of an event organised by the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. Under the heading “Security and Defence Policy: Implications of the ‘Zeitenwende’ for Germany’s National Security Strategy”, experts from politics, academia and society will discuss the current situation and its consequences.

Following the policy speech, the Minister will talk about the topic with Dr Guntram Wolff, Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations. In a subsequent panel discussion, participants will debate how Germany may meet the global security challenges credibly and sustainably. General Eberhard Zorn, the German Chief of Defence, will also take part in this discussion. The entire event will be broadcast on bmvg.de from 10 am until about 11.45. We will be posting about the debate on the National Security Strategy on social media under the hashtag #securitystrategy.