Róbert Vass, President and Founder of GLOBSEC, opened the GLOBSEC Forum 2026 with a deliberately unsentimental framing: Europe is not at the edge of history but in the middle of it, and the old assumptions underpinning three decades of peace and prosperity are gone. He identified five interlocking strategic realities that will define European choices in the coming years. Europe must shift from crisis management to power building. Defence must be understood as an industrial and financial challenge. Private capital must be mobilised at scale. Artificial intelligence must be treated as a sovereignty question. And democracy itself must recover confidence from within. The GLOBSEC Trends 2026 Survey shows that European publics increasingly grasp the stakes, with nearly 70% now supporting a European army. Europe has the talent and the capital; the remaining question is whether it still has the courage.

Czech President, Petr Pavel, used his address to set out a clear-eyed framework for European strategic adaptation, organised around three connected themes. On the European pillar within NATO, he argued that the shift underway is not burden sharing but burden shifting — Europe must move from being defined by what it contributes to the Alliance to being defined by the responsibility and readiness it brings to it, fully integrated into NATO planning, capability targets and command structures rather than developing parallel structures. On NATO-EU cooperation, he identified military mobility as the most actionable near-term opportunity, urging that NATO's operational requirements directly guide EU infrastructure investment, and calling for the inclusion of non-EU security partners. Hi message on Ukraine was clear: Ukraine is not defending itself alone but transforming European security culture, and supporting it is a direct investment in Europe's own future. Speed has become a strategic capability, and history will not wait for Europe to deliberate its way to readiness.

Livestream Link:  https://youtube.com/live/K6o0XVEebRg?feature=share

In a chat with Gen. John Allen, the Czech President argued that AI mastery is now a decisive geopolitical variable., citing the stated ambitions of both Russia and China as evidence that Europe cannot afford complacency, and called for the removal of barriers between Europe, the US, and with technologically capable partners worldwide. On AI governance, he rejected the framing of a US-EU competition between speed and regulation, arguing instead that the two approaches are complementary and that internal democratic rivalry over models risks benefiting China. He pointed to Ukraine's defence innovation cycle as a concrete benchmark: drones designed, produced, tested at the front and iterated within days represent a tempo that European procurement and legislative systems are currently incapable of matching, and which must change. He closed by framing that the defining geopolitical variable of the coming decade will not be territorial size but speed of innovation.

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• We describe the current moment as a crisis, but crises imply resolution — a return to stability on the other side. What if what we are living through is not a crisis but a permanent transition, with no guaranteed destination?
• The fracture has not affected all countries equally — some are losing the order they built, some are constructing a new one, and some are calculating how to profit from the space between the two. Is Europe positioned to shape what comes next, or merely to respond to it?
• If the leaders in this room had to identify one thing that must be preserved from the collapsing order and one thing that must be released, what would those things be?

The panellists used this session to challenge the terms of conventional debate about Europe’s decline, arguing that the continent's apparent weaknesses — fragmentation, regulatory complexity, asymmetric threat perceptions across member states — are also sources of resilience that more centralised powers cannot replicate. The panel was unsparing about Europe's self-inflicted vulnerabilities: household savings flowing into American markets, capital markets that remain nationally fragmented despite decades of effort, procurement and regulatory cycles too slow to match Ukraine's battlefield innovation tempo, and a demographic trajectory that no government has found the political courage to address honestly. Ivan Krastev offered the session's sharpest reframe: the problem is not which answer Europe chooses but that it keeps asking the same questions, and genuine transformation requires changing the questions themselves. The session closed with a shared forecast: the strategic error Europe will most regret in ten years is not military unreadiness but the failure to secure control over its own data.

Livestream Link:  https://youtube.com/live/tlzX8it_OV0?feature=share

• How Taiwan and the EU can strengthen supply chain security, support emerging technologies, and foster mutually beneficial investment and trade relations?
• What role can Taiwan and the EU play in shaping the future of the global semiconductor industry?
• How can both sides enhance cooperation in innovation and strategic technologies while maintaining economic competitiveness?
• What are the concrete opportunities arising from stronger Taiwan–EU economic and technological ties?

• Where does Europe need to accelerate tech uptake and diffusion in pursuit of the Draghi roadmap?
• What does tech adoption evidence reveal about the most urgent gaps to fix?

• How prepared are Ukraine and the international community to address these challenges?
• What is at stake, and what are the key issues that need to be tackled?

• What policies must deliver visible economic gains within the next 1–2 years?
• Which strategic sectors should Europe prioritise to strengthen competitiveness with the US and China?
• Where must the EU accelerate its competitiveness agenda to turn strategy into results?

In a chat moderated by Terry Martin, Karel Havlíček was sharp: nothing has changed, and Europe is running out of time. Europe is overregulated, energy prices are making it uncompetitive at the most basic level, its industrial base is being hollowed out not by cheap Chinese labour but by Chinese innovation and state instruments that mirror what Europe once used successfully. He argued that the Green Deal framework must give way to a security framework that encompasses energy, industrial and raw material independence alongside defence, and that this transition should be driven by market mechanisms, R&D incentives and depreciation instruments rather than the subsidy architecture that currently distorts European industry. His broader message was unambiguous: competitiveness cannot be declared, regulated or subsidised into existence — it must be earned through results, and earning it requires leaders who have themselves delivered results outside of politics.

Livestream Link:  https://youtube.com/live/gEf6QTDbOQ4?feature=share

• How is the cyber threat landscape evolving, particularly with the growing role of AI in both cyberattacks and cyber defence?
• How should Europe think about technological dependencies in cybersecurity and the broader geopolitics of these dependencies?
• How are national cybersecurity agencies adapting to these technological and geopolitical shifts, and where do capability gaps remain?
• What practical improvements are needed to strengthen cooperation between national authorities, EU institutions, and the private sector?

• What are the latest predictions for global growth, inflation, and trade in 2026–27
• What are the main risks to global economic stability and recovery?
• How are monetary and financial policies shaping the global outlook?
• How will changing trade dynamics and geopolitical pressures affect global economic prospects?

• How is the current shock reshaping the competitive balance between the United States, Europe, and major Asian economies? 
• Does Europe face a persistent vulnerability to externally driven price shocks, and how can this be addressed without slowing the energy transition?
• How does U.S. energy production capacity shape its ability to manage global shocks, and does this translate into meaningful economic or geopolitical advantage?
• How are China and India adapting their energy strategies, and what does this mean for global demand and pricing power?
• What kind of international coordination is still possible in an increasingly fragmented energy landscape?
• To what extent can countries mitigate exposure to globally driven energy price volatility, and what policy tools are most effective in doing so?

• How can governments, companies, and civil society work together to equip citizens for effective crisis response while also fostering informed, connected communities?
• What concrete actions and strategies can help populations prepare for a range of crises—from blackouts and drone attacks to complex information challenges—while strengthening both personal and community readiness? 
• How can national and EU-level initiatives like ProtectEU effectively translate policy into actionable guidance for citizens?
• In what ways can stronger community ties and local networks help societies withstand crises and a broad spectrum of threats?

• How is Europe responding to increasing political and economic pressure on its digital regulation framework, and what strategic objectives are driving this approach?
• What does European digital sovereignty mean in practice beyond a binary choice between dependence and isolation?
• How can Europe increase its strategic control and available options while continuing to access the world’s best technologies and innovation ecosystems?
• What are the trade-offs between Buy European approaches and the concerns of EU member states that strict technological sovereignty could undermine competitiveness and innovation?
• How are transatlantic tensions over digital competition policy evolving and where do EU and US regulators’ priorities align?

• How are regional powers and multilateral institutions adapting their own frameworks as global coordination mechanisms weaken, and is regional order a viable substitute for global order?
• Has the fracture created genuine space for new voices to shape the rules of international engagement, or does power still consolidate around the same actors in new arrangements?
• What are the practical consequences of the breakdown, for conflict prevention, for development, for trade, and which communities are bearing the greatest cost of the transition?

• How can NATO and Europe adapt to growing Arctic threats while reducing reliance on the U.S.?
• What would a shift in Arctic control, including Greenland, mean for alliance cohesion and European security?
• How should investments in military and subsea capabilities be balanced with economic and climate priorities?

• How can CEE governments turn record investment inflows and defence spending into durable, innovation-driven growth rather than a cyclical windfall?
• What structural reforms and EU policy shifts are needed to fully activate CEE as a driver of European competitiveness?
• How can the region leverage its energy transition and industrial base to attract strategic investment away from non-European competitors?
• What kind of leadership role should CEE play in shaping the EU’s economic and geopolitical direction over the next decade?

• Can Europe scale defence production, maintenance, and sustainment rapidly enough to meet long-term readiness and deterrence requirements?
• How effectively are NATO and EU frameworks aligning industrial capabilities with operational defence needs to ensure interoperability across borders?
• To what extent can Europe build a self-sufficient defence industrial base, and what role will partnerships, allied value chains, and selective decoupling from adversaries play in meeting long-term deterrence requirements?
• Can Europe achieve this level of industrial resilience independently, or will it remain reliant on partnerships, allied value chains, and selective decoupling from adversaries?

• Have we meaningfully improved health supply chain resilience since COVID-19
• What are the most critical vulnerabilities in Europe’s supply of medicines and medical equipment today?
• How exposed are these supply chains to geopolitical pressure or hybrid threats?
• What would a large-scale crisis scenario reveal about Europe’s actual preparedness?
• What practical steps are needed to ensure faster and more coordinated cross-border response in emergencies?

• How is great-power competition reshaping CRM access and security?
• Which diversification or investment strategies can deliver impact fastest?
• How can partners coordinate more effectively to reduce dependency on dominant suppliers?

• How is the militarisation of space by China and Russia reshaping the strategic environment for Europe?
• What role can Europe play in shaping international norms, standards, and governance in space?
• How can Europe build resilient alliances and partnerships to maintain security and strategic influence in orbit?
• What are the emerging technological and strategic trends that will define space competition over the next decade?

• What is the current EU legislative landscape delivering in practice and what gaps remain?
• How are platforms and technology companies innovating on child safety right now, from age assurance to algorithmic accountability?
• As AI systems increasingly shape how children learn, communicate, and access information online, how can we ensure these technologies respect children’s rights — including privacy, healthy development, and freedom of expression?
• Where are the most promising opportunities for public-private collaboration to turn policy commitments into meaningful change for children and families?

• Should Europe simply be content with calling for restraint and early cessation of the hostilities, should it support its American ally in words and/or deeds or should it take a stand against it as contrary to the international law and not in European interests?
• How has the European position evolved since the start of the conflict?
• How does the conflict affect the situation and the thinking of the main players in the Russian war on Ukraine, how does it affect European economy and security, and what is its impact on the present and future of the Atlantic alliance?

• What would it actually take to give the EU the fiscal firepower and flexibility to compete in an era of rearmament, industrial policy, and geopolitical rivalry?
• Where are the EU's decision-making structures holding Europe back most, and what would meaningful reform realistically look like?
• As unanimity requirements continue to frustrate collective action, should Europe lean further into coalitions of the willing — and if so, how can variable-geometry arrangements drive integration forward rather than entrench a fragmented, two-speed Europe?
• How can Europe's political centre build a compelling enough story around sovereignty and collective purpose to sustain public support for the hard choices ahead?

• With defence investment accelerating and integration deepening, how does Europe ensure democratic accountability keeps pace with strategic ambition?
• What will it take to turn the Draghi competitiveness agenda into reality — and is the current institutional architecture ready to move at the speed the moment requires?
• What is the state of European democracy and how does the Parliament protect the integrity of its institutions at a time of rising populism, foreign information manipulation and interference, and geopolitical pressure?
• Energy security is back at the top of the European agenda — what does a credible, sovereign energy policy look like, and what progress is already being made?
• As the transatlantic relationship evolves, what does European strategic autonomy mean in practice — and what political choices will it require?

• How must military doctrine, supply chains and skills evolve when cheap autonomous systems can neutralise billion-euro capabilities?
• Europe has the technology but still struggles to deploy at scale. Can initiatives like the Dutch-led priority capability area on drones and counter-drones unlock faster testing, procurement and industrial scaling?
• As warfare shifts from human-piloted systems to AI-enabled swarm operations, who will design and control the command architectures that manage autonomous systems at the speed of modern conflict?

• Does Europe have clarity on what power actually means today, and what would it take to develop a coherent strategy that spans both its traditional strengths and the new domains where dominance is being decided?
• What leverage does Europe still genuinely possess — economic, diplomatic, technological, and values-based — and how can it be translated into strategic relevance rather than just regulatory clout?
• How can the EU overcome its internal fragmentation to achieve the scale, speed, and unity that the new global power competition demands?
• What would a genuine model of pooled sovereignty look like in practice?
• How can Europe build partnerships grounded in mutual capability rather than dependency, and what does strategic autonomy require beyond declarations?

• Which digital technologies should Europe prioritise to stay operationally competitive?
• How can Europe ensure real interoperability across national and allied systems
• What stands in the way of a coordinated, digital-by-design defence transformation?

• Where should Europe build and where should it partner?
• What choices are most urgent to avoid deeper dependency?
• Which alliances matter most for securing critical chip access?

• What does a durable post-conflict security architecture need to address — beyond a ceasefire — to prevent future cycles of escalation in the Gulf?
• How can Gulf states balance deepening security dependencies on Western partners with their broader interest in long-term regional stability and Arab solidarity?
• What role should international institutions and global powers play in guaranteeing freedom of navigation and preventing future escalation in critical maritime corridors?

• Are European and Allied efforts to build a layered IAMD architecture moving fast enough to keep pace with current and emerging threats?
• Can Europe’s defence industry deliver IAMD capabilities at the speed and scale required to ensure deterrence and operational relevance?
• Which technological breakthroughs are most likely to reshape IAMD over the next decade?

• How far is urgency genuinely shaping defence decision-making at the EU level, and what obstacles continue to slow or fragment implementation across Member States?
• Have recent initiatives moved EU defence industrial cooperation beyond political declarations, particularly in terms of joint procurement, contracts, and supply-chain resilience?
• Are new financial instruments, including SAFE, delivering resources at the speed and scale required, or does the ramp-up of funding and project implementation remain insufficient?

• What role can Brussels and the euro play in shaping global trade and reducing dependence on the US dollar in the post-WTO era?
• Does the America First policy signal the end of the economic interdependencies as we know them?
• Who can fill the vacuum of WTO in the multilateral trading system? Do we need a new authority?
• How will the US and Europe prioritise other regional markets, what key points of contention are likely to emerge?
• How might Global South actors respond in terms of partnership and alliance choices?

• How can governments and the private sector develop integrated frameworks that address the full spectrum of threats to critical infrastructure?
• What investment, regulatory, and governance models best support long-term infrastructure resilience?
• How should international cooperation evolve to protect shared and interdependent critical systems from both state and non-state actors?

• What are the legitimate grievances on both sides of the Atlantic and have they been honestly acknowledged in either direction?
• Is the current strain a negotiable disagreement about burden-sharing and priorities, or does it reflect a deeper divergence in political values and global vision?
• What does European strategic autonomy mean in practice for the alliance? Is it a strengthening contribution or a signal of drift?
• Where do U.S. and European interests still genuinely converge, and is that convergence strong enough to anchor a renegotiated relationship?
•  What would a more honest and balanced transatlantic partnership actually require from both sides and who has the political standing to lead that conversation?

• How are South and Southeast Asian states redefining strategic autonomy as great-power competition intensifies and traditional alignments are tested?
• With US security guarantees less certain, what complementary partnerships and arrangements are emerging in the Southeast Asia?
• What do Asian states want from Europe right now — and how can ASEAN–EU cooperation deliver tangible outcomes?

• What is the actual situation in Gaza today — and what does the ceasefire make possible, and what does it not?
• Where are the biggest gaps between the plan on paper and the reality on the ground?
• Who holds real authority under this framework — and what happens when mandates clash?
• How do you build a technocratic government from scratch in a shattered political landscape?
• What does success look like in one year? In five? What is the single biggest threat to the plan right now?

• As autocracies increasingly coordinate globally, how can democracies rebuild a collective defence without the leadership that once anchored it?
• How do institutions maintain credibility and public trust when democratic backsliding is occurring from within established systems, not only at their edges?
• How can societies build the internal cohesion and civic confidence needed to withstand external pressure and internal division?
• How can civil society, independent media, and citizens sustain democratic norms when institutions themselves are under pressure from within?

• Can international institutions deliver enforceable justice for Ukraine's deported and displaced children before the window closes?
• How does civil society sustain the documentation of war crimes under conditions of active bombardment — and who is listening?
• What does genuine European solidarity look like in practice, and where does political commitment still fall short?

• How can Europe strengthen its defence capabilities while remaining fully committed to NATO, rather than building outside it?
• What reforms are necessary within NATO to reflect the changing balance of responsibility between the U.S. and European members?
• Can NATO maintain cohesion if the U.S. further deprioritises European security, or does Europe need to rethink its strategic independence?
• How do diverging perspectives on defence spending, technology procurement, and industrial autonomy affect the transatlantic relationship?
• What political and strategic mechanisms can prevent tensions from rising as Europe seeks a more assertive role within NATO?

• The EU Migration Pact establishes a new framework — what does successful implementation actually require from member states, and where are the gaps between what has been agreed and what is operationally achievable?
• How should Europe strengthen the external dimension of migration policy — partnerships with origin and transit countries, investment in stability, and safe legal pathways?
• Europe faces acute demographic pressures and growing skills shortages that well- migration can help address. Which models of integration and labour market inclusion are already showing results, and how can proven approaches be scaled across member states?

Livestream Link: https://youtube.com/live/MbrJi-RAVPE?feature=share

• The conflict has exposed how physical chokepoints can rapidly become economic weapons. Who bears the true cost — and who is being asked to absorb shocks they had no role in creating?
• The Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint not just for oil but for LNG, fertilisers, aluminium and petrochemicals. As shortages ripple across industries simultaneously, how do governments and businesses prioritise where to act first?
• As supply chains are disrupted and investment decisions are put on hold, how are businesses adapting — and which ones are most exposed?
• How is the economic security agenda changing European politics at home? As defence budgets rise, living costs climb and growth slows, can mainstream parties hold voters — or does insecurity abroad inevitably fuel instability at home?

• Mythos-class capabilities emerged from general AI advances, not cybersecurity engineering — which means similar surprises are coming faster than European regulatory cycles can absorb. How should European governments and enterprises plan for that?
• Glasswing is, by design, exclusive. European finance ministers have called for broader access. From inside the coalition, what does responsible European participation look like — and what must Europe bring to earn it?
• The Anthropic-Pentagon dispute and the federal court ruling make clear that the governance framework around frontier AI is unsettled in Washington itself. How should European policy principals navigate that uncertainty?
• If a European critical infrastructure operator — a grid, a bank, a hospital network — asked you privately what they should be doing in the next six months that they are not already doing, what would you tell them?

• What role does innovation uptake have for the structure and capabilities of modern armed forces, and how should European militaries institutionalise the lessons emerging from Ukraine?
• How do we use the full potential of Ukrainian-European defence partnerships to accelerate and scale up production to meet both Ukraine's immediate needs and Europe's longer-term rearmament goals?
• How can European governments structure incentives to encourage their domestic defence companies to invest in partnerships with Ukrainian producers at scale?
• How do we build the trust, interoperability standards, and intellectual property frameworks necessary to sustain long-term Ukrainian-European co-development rather than one-off procurement deals?

• How do national and regional priorities shape different approaches to China, and where do these approaches converge or diverge most sharply?
• Is meaningful coordination across regions possible, or do structural differences in economic needs and strategic exposure limit alignment?
• What does credible "de-risking" look like for countries that lack the scale to compel Beijing's compliance but cannot afford the costs of decoupling?

• Can Europe be the global industrial leader while pursuing one of the world’s most ambitious green transitions, or must it recalibrate its goals to stay economically resilient?
• How can green policy be translated into tangible growth, delivering affordable energy, world-class innovation, and a stronger position in global markets?
• Can Europe achieve its new 2040 targets without compromising its global industrial competitiveness?
• Are the EU policies translating into real industrial opportunities or do they just lead to overregulation?
• Which sectors are most likely to gain a competitive edge from the transition, and which might fall behind?
• Are European industries equipped to adapt to clean technologies, or will skills and supply chain gaps slow progress?
• How is the shock of war in the Middle East redrawing the politics, economics, and pace of Europe's energy transition?

• Where is cooperation between like-minded democracies actually emerging — and what role do independent media and quality journalism play in sustaining it against platform power, synthetic content and declining public trust?
• What does the EU's institutional and regulatory response offer democracies facing authoritarian information interference, and how do European and global newsrooms — working within different regulatory contexts — translate that architecture into editorial practice?

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• How do Russia and China coordinate politically, militarily, and economically, and what drives this partnership?
• In what ways does their alignment challenge Western security structures in Europe and the Indo-Pacific?
• What risks arise from concurrent crises in Ukraine and Taiwan, and how could NATO and regional partners respond?
• How might the Russia–China partnership reshape long-term strategic planning for Europe and Indo-Pacific security frameworks?

• What does Ukraine's military and industrial transformation mean for the future of European defence?
• Where does the EU accession process stand, and what does meaningful security cooperation look like within that framework?
• How can allies best leverage Ukrainian expertise and capacity?
• What responsibilities come with Ukraine's emerging status as a frontline security provider?

• Is the Russian regime immune to internal socioeconomic and political dynamics?
• Is Russia’s core focus on the war in Ukraine a strategic vulnerability, and how sustainable is Russia’s current model of influence and support for partners across the Middle East and Latin America?
• Was Russia’s limited response to developments in Iran or Venezuela a sign of strategic restraint — or of growing limits to Moscow’s ability to project power? Or can Russia now assume the role of a mediator – as attempted in the case of Iran?

• Which PPC models have proven most effective in CEE, and what lessons can be applied more broadly?
• Which sectors and projects are the most urgent and have the highest potential for impact?
• Which countries in CEE are leading in PPCs, and what are their key success factors?
• What structural, administrative, or institutional gaps hinder the development of bankable projects?
• How can a credible project pipeline and supportive environment signal to capital markets that CEE is ready for private investment?

• Are tech alliances emerging as a coherent answer to fractured supply chains and contested standards — or are they fragile coalitions of convenience that will buckle under the next political shift?
• As AI compute becomes as strategically significant as chip manufacturing itself, are we walking into a new form of dependency faster than we can act on the last one?
• A handful of private companies now control the chips, cloud platforms, and model layers that governments and militaries depend on. What does that concentration of leverage mean for sovereignty, allied coordination, and the terms on which partners get access?

• What specific breaks in the European scaling pipeline (capital, procurement, regulation, talent) are most responsible for losing globally competitive startups to other markets, and which are most fixable in the near term?
• How can European governments turn strategic priorities in defence, energy, and critical infrastructure into actual demand signals that reach deep-tech startups, not just incumbents?
• What would a European growth-stage financing ecosystem need to look like to keep breakthrough companies scaling on the continent, and what role should public capital play in catalysing it?

• What kind of order, if any, is emerging from the fracture and who gets to shape it?
• Can Europe act as a coherent geopolitical force?
• With Central and Eastern Europe increasingly at the heart of Europe's strategic debates, what does a more genuinely pan-European foreign policy look like in practice?
• How can Poland and Hungary rebuild practical dialogue, and what role can Germany play in supporting a more cohesive Central Europe?
• How can Central Europe drive European unity on Ukraine, NATO, energy resilience, competitiveness, enlargement and Europe's wider global role?
• As Washington's commitments are questioned and Beijing's influence grows, what does European strategic autonomy actually mean in practice and at what cost?

• What does it take to keep a city functioning under sustained aerial bombardment — and what has Kharkiv's experience revealed about the limits of urban resilience?
• How has the international community supported Kharkiv's reconstruction, and where have the gaps been most painful?
• As head of the Association of Frontline Cities and Communities of Ukraine, what are the most urgent needs that are still not being heard by European partners? •
• What does a future Kharkiv look like and how do you plan for recovery when the war is not yet over?

• What political and societal trajectories are plausible for Belarus in the coming years?
• What do diverging U.S. and European approaches mean for democratic transformation?
• How does Belarus fit into a potential Ukraine peace settlement, and what do diverging US and European approaches mean for Belarus's sovereignty and prospects for political opening?
• What combination of deterrence, engagement and sustained support can external actors adopt to strengthen Belarusian civil society and democratic networks?
• How should mobility, sanctions, and engagement policies be recalibrated to keep Belarus connected to Europe rather than pushing it further into Moscow's orbit?
• What are the risks and opportunities for regional security and stability if Belarus’s current political and economic structures persist or evolve?

• How can staged integration deliver meaningful progress for candidate countries without immediate full membership?
• What institutional or treaty reforms are needed to make enlargement more predictable and reduce veto obstacles? • How can the EU link benefits to reforms while maintaining flexibility and safeguards? • How can enlargement strengthen European security and resilience, especially in relation to Russia? • What are the main risks and opportunities for EU cohesion, Single Market governance, and fiscal stability?

• Can Global Gateway become Europe's most credible geoeconomic instrument?
• How can the EU compete with more transactional infrastructure offers while maintaining high standards and delivering genuine mutual benefit?
• What does a partnership of equals actually mean in practice when Europe itself needs resources, routes and resilience?
• How can Europe combine private capital, development finance and political credibility into a single coherent strategic offer?

• What does experience reveal about scaling commercial technology into defence, and which barriers are technical, which are institutional?
• How can European governments, individually and collectively, reconcile sovereign control over data, cloud, and critical software with the speed that dual-use capability demands?
• Where are procurement, standards, and capability planning most in need of redesign to keep pace — and how can Europe build the demand signals and industrial scale to sustain it?

• On what terms this cessation will be achieved and when?
• What objectives can Kyiv and its partners realistically pursue, both on the battlefield and beyond it?
• Can a fair and lasting peace framework be built, and what security commitments will sustain it?
• Will that be enough to qualify it as a victory for Ukraine, Europe, and the rest of the democratic world?
• What role will the US and Europe play in this process?