On 6-8 July, Elena Lazarou participated in a number of the official side events taking place alongside the 2026 NATO Summit.
At the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum (NSDIF), Dr. Lazarou moderated one of the Spotlight Sessions, bringing together policymakers and industry representatives from the US, Europe and Korea to discuss scalable defence capabilities, competitiveness, EU–NATO cooperation, and the growing importance of dual-use technologies. A recurring theme was how innovation developed for defence can also strengthen resilience and deliver benefits in peacetime.
At Allies in Ankara, the official event hub of the Summit co-hosted by the Munich Security Conference, she spoke at the panel “From Sabotage to Swarms: Evaluating Hybrid Warfare in the Baltic Sea Region”, organised by the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center (GSSC), Vilnius. Dr. Lazarou contributed a perspective from Greece, addressing lessons learned from an environment of hybrid threats, asymmetric tactics and economic coercion inter alia. She also referred to the opportunities presented by the development of dual-use innovation to simultaneously address those threats and build resilience. She also outlined the links between Europe’s Eastern and Southern flanks, making the exchange of experience and best practices increasingly important.
Dr. Lazarou also participated in The Mindset Shift, a joint event organised by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Policy Planning Unit of the Office of the NATO Secretary General. The discussion focused on how the current shift in defence thinking and investment must be accompanied by democratic accountability, transparency, and greater societal engagement. She emphasised the contribution that parliaments can make through their legislative, budgetary, oversight and parliamentary diplomacy functions and by safeguarding democratic principles.
ANKARA, TURKEY – JULY 07: during the event Don’t Stop Me Now: Mapping Europe’s Mindset Shift in a Stronger NATO at Allies in Ankara, the Official Event Hub for the 2026 NATO Summit, co-hosted by the Munich Security Conference and the SETA Foundation at Ankara Palace on July 07, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Photo: Leonhard Simon/MSC
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