The 62nd Munich Security Conference took place from February 13 to 15, 2026 with more than 40 Heads of State and Government from all over the world attending alongside experts and other stakeholders. This year’s Conference took place at a fundamental inflection point for global geopolitics and addressed, inter alia, European security and defense, the future of the transatlantic relationship, the revitalization of multilateralism, competing visions of the global order, regional conflicts, and the security implications of technological advances.
As an invitee of the conference, Dr. Elena Lazarou, Director General of ELIAMEP, was a speaker on the side event on “Defense Spending in Wartime: Balancing Politics, Industry, and Society”, organised by Łukasiewicz – ITECH Instytut Innowacji i Technologii and the European University Institute. The event focused on how European democracies can sustain defence investment in an era of prolonged insecurity and economic pressure. The exchange brought together distinguished participants, including Michal Baranowski, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, Ivan Krastev, Chairman, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Hiski Haukkala, Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs – FIIA, Jana Puglierin, Head of the Berlin Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Sylvie MATELLY, Director of the Jacques Delors Institute and Anna Wieslander, Head of the Stockholm Office and Director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council.
Dr. Lazarou was also invited to contribute to a roundtable discussion “Anchoring the Balkans: Evaluating EU Enlargement, Transatlantic Commitment and Europe’s Security Challenge” hosted by the IAI – Istituto Affari Internazionali in partnership with Open Society Foundations | Western Balkans and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
The discussion kicked off with remarks by high level representatives of the Western Balkan countries and was followed by comments by experts, including Amanda Sloat, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at IE University in Madrid, Sylvie Goulard, President of the Deutsch-Französisches Institut, Trine Flockhart, Chair of Security Studies at the Florence School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute, Karen Pierce, UK Special Envoy for the Western Balkans and Amer Kapetanovic, Secretary General of Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).
Other participations of ELIAMEP’s Director General included the Delphi Economic Forum side event “Mediterranean Lifeline: How to Secure Europe’s Energy Future,” with a keynote speech by Stavros Papastavrou, Greek Minister of Environment and Energy and a closed session on “Is Competition without Conflict Possible? Mapping the Views of Chinese and Americans on Foreign Policy Issues” organized by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Carter Center.
Dr. Lazarou also joined over 50 heads of global think tanks for a roundtable discussion on the future of think tanks and assessment of global trends.
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