Third Schuman Security and Defence Forum Meets in Brussels on November 17-18: Decision-Makers From More Than 85 Partner Countries, Kallas to Deliver Keynote
The European External Action Service (EEAS) issued a media advisory on November 11 announcing that the third Schuman Security and Defence Forum will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on November 17-18, 2026. Convened by Kaja Kallas, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, the Forum will bring together senior decision-makers from more than 85 partner countries, EU Member States, high-level representatives of the European Union, international and regional organisations, and leading think tanks and academia, for high-level dialogue on how peace, security and defence partnerships can respond to today's and tomorrow's security threats.
The Forum opens at 9 a.m. on its first day with welcoming remarks by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, followed by a keynote speech by Kallas. A plenary high-level panel will address global security in flux and reliable partnerships for a more secure future. Six breakout roundtables will cover the evolving nexus from conflict to terror, cyber threats and the impact of super intelligence (SI), building mutual resilience against hybrid threats, defence supply chains and critical dependencies, space as a strategic domain under threat, and maritime security, including freedom of navigation, protection of submarine infrastructure and action against shadow fleets. A closing plenary will discuss the international order between recomposition and reform, peacekeeping and human security, with concluding remarks by Kallas.
The Forum is organised by the EEAS with financial support from the European Commission's Service for Foreign Policy Instruments. Alongside the main event, a closed-door think-tank meeting will be held on November 17, as well as a dedicated Youth, Peace and Security event at which six young peacebuilders, drawn from an EU network of more than 700 young activists worldwide, will take part, with one of them bringing a youth perspective to the Forum itself.
In the run-up to the Forum, EU delegations held preparatory 'Road to Schuman' events in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Kenya, Moldova and Norway, whose regional discussions will feed into the Brussels meeting. The Australian event, held at Parliament House on October 22, drew more than 175 European and Australian defence practitioners and a keynote by Finland's Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen; the EU and Australia signed a Security and Defence Partnership in March 2026.
The first Schuman Forum was held in 2023 and the second in 2024, when more than 600 high-level participants from 60 countries and international organisations gathered alongside the 27 EU Member States. The EEAS says that in an interconnected world where security threats quickly become global, mutually beneficial and reliable partnerships are essential to upholding the international rules-based order and multilateralism.
(Source: European External Action Service)
Source: European External Action Service
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于布鲁塞尔的欧洲议会大楼，舒曼安全与防务论坛在布鲁塞尔举行。照片：Steven Lek 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The European Parliament building in Brussels, where the Schuman Security and Defence Forum convenes. Photo by Steven Lek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
