The Defence of Europe is being co-hosted by Reaction and King’s College London on May 9th, 2022 at Auditorium, Bush House, King’s College London, 30 Aldwych, London.
Attendance by ticket only. To register interest email registration@thedefenceofeurope.com
Agenda
09:00 Registration
09:30 Opening of conference. Welcome remarks by Iain Martin (Reaction) and Professor
‘Funmi Olinosakin (Vice President, Global Engagement, King’s College London)
09:35 Address from Guest of Honor Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the
United Kingdom
Morning Session – moderated by Mark Urban, Newsnight, BBC
09:45 Panel 1 – “Ukraine and the future of European defence”
• Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy, Cambridge University
• Tim Marshall, author, broadcaster and Reaction columnist
• General Sir James Everard, KCB, CBE, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
Europe
• Professor Will Jessett CBE, Visiting Professor, King’s College London
10:40 Break
11:00 Panel 2 – “Stronger European Security”
• Professor Beatrice Heuser, Chair of International Relations, University of Glasgow
• Elisabeth Braw, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
• Anna Fotyga, MEP, former Secretary-General of the European Conservatives and
Reformists Party, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, former chairperson of the
subcommittee of security and defence of the EP and member of the NATO Reflection
Group
• Fabian Zuleeg, Chief Executive and Chief Economist, European Policy Centre
• General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, KCB, OBE, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander,
Europe
12:00 – 12:45 Ben Wallace in conversation
Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon. Ben Wallace in conversation with Professor John Gearson, Director, Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College London
12:45 Break for lunch
Private lunch by invitation only, with John Healey MP, Shadow Secretary of State for
Defence
Afternoon session – moderated by Adam Boulton, broadcaster and Reaction columnist
14:15 Panel 3 – “Economic Warfare and Defence Investment”
• Merryn Somerset Webb, Columnist/Contributing Editor, The Financial Times
• Dr. Martin Navias, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London
• Baroness Neville-Jones, former Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee
• Jacob Geer, Head of Space Surveillance and Tracking,UK Space Agency
15:15 Break
15:45 Keynote interview
Professor John Bew, Professor in History and Foreign Policy, King’s College London
(in person) interviews Professor Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution (via video
link)
16:30 Draft Declaration on the Defence of Europe
Produced by King’s students and the Reaction team with input from the wider conference
team
16:40 Keynote Address
Sir Lawrence Freedman, KCMG, CBE, PC, FBA, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King’s
College London
17:05 Concluding remarks and thanks from Prof Wyn Bowen (Head, School of Security
Studies, King’s College London), Lord Salisbury (Chairman, Reaction), and Professor Shitij
Kapur (President and Principal of King’s College London) closing the conference.
17:15 Final media interviews
