Strengthening Europe’s defence industrial ecosystem: security challenges and opportunities for Greek – Swedish cooperation

On Tuesday, 17 March 2026, the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the Embassy of Sweden in Greece co-organised a closed roundtable discussion titled ‘Strengthening Europe’s defence industrial ecosystem: security challenges and opportunities for Greek – Swedish cooperation’ at  ELIAMEP’s premises.

The event featured Ambassador Erik Widman, Defence Export Coordinator at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Magnus Larsson, NATO & EU Business Development Director at SAAB, as speakers.

The closed-door roundtable discussion, moderated by Dr. Elena Lazarou, Director General of ELIAMEP,  brought together more than 25 representatives from government, industry and the think-tank community to examine the evolving role of the European Defence Industrial and Technological Base (EDTIB) in addressing today’s multifaceted security challenges. The discussion explored, among other topics, how the EU defence industrial programmes and other initiatives contribute to a stronger and more resilient defence and dual-use ecosystem, while particular attention was given to current and future opportunities for deeper cooperation between the Greek and Swedish industries. Special emphasis was also given to best practices to support dual-use SMEs and startups.

This activity was the first to be conducted within the framework of the newly launched ELIAMEP Defence Hub, an initiative dedicated to advancing policy-oriented research and dialogue on the Greek and European defence industry. For more information, please contact Mr Panos Politis Lamprou ([email protected]).