Within the framework of the EU Future Conference (EU-Zukunftskonferenz), the Austrian Federal Minister for EU and Constitution, Karoline Edtstadler, is organising regular rounds of discussions on the topics of current European challenges inviting experts from various fields to share their expertise.

As part of the conference programme, Marian Rachow, Head of HENSOLDT Ventures and Managing Director of HENSOLDT Cyber GmbH, was invited to the Future Lab (Zukunftslabor) on the 23rd of March, 2022, alongside Franz-Stefan Gady (Fellow at International Institute for Strategic Studies, United Kingdom), Heinrich Pfriemer (Global Head Industry Business Unit Defense and Security at SAP), Brigadier Peter Vorhofer (Federal Ministry of Defence), Ass.iur Verena Jackson (Lawyer & Researcher, Center for Intelligence & Security Studies (CISS), University of the German Armed Forces), and Dl Dr Michael Halwachs (SKKM – Staatliches Krisen – und Katastrophen Management / State Crisis and Disaster Management, Ministry of the Interior), to discuss perspectives for the European security and defence architecture against the backdrop of the current geopolitical situation. 

“Especially in times like these, in which the impact of the war in Ukraine has never been more present for Europe, it is highly important to bring politics, academia and industry in a plenum to elaborate topics such as the European interoperability, the importance of digital sovereignty and the need for a holistic overview of the situation with growing interconnection of influences and threats,” commented Marian Rachow after the event. 

We want to thank Karoline Edtstadler for the invitation and Dl Dr Michael Halwachs, Heinrich Pfriemer, Brigadier Dr Peter Vorhofer, Ass.iur Verena Jackson and Franz-Stefan Gady for the fascinating discussion.