REPORT

Introduction

The Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association has the honour to present its report on the participation of Leona Alleslev, M.P., at the 16^th Summer Defence Conference in Paris, France, from September 10 to 11, 2018.

The Summer Defence Conference is organized with the support of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, with the chairs of the Defence Committee of the Senate and of the National Assembly, and the French Minister of the Armed Forces in attendance. Each year, the Conference brings together more than 500 national and European senior political leaders, as well as key players in administration and industry. Participants are able to discuss issues with other decision-makers from a variety of backgrounds.

The purposes of the meeting were as follows:

• Contribute to building a “defence community,” bringing together stakeholders of all backgrounds;
• Share opinions, propose solutions and create new opportunities for cooperation in the field of defence, through small-group workshops focused on fostering debate;
• Compare ideas with the reality on the ground by immersing participants in the world of the armed forces; and
• Bring together key defence stakeholders based on national and international current events.

Participants heard presentations from the following people:

• Stéphane MAYER, President and CEO of NEXTER, President of GICAT
• Christian CAMBON, Chair of the French Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee
• Jean-Jacques BRIDEY, Chair of the French National Assembly’s National Defence and Armed Forces Committee
• Florence PARLY, French Minister of the Armed Forces

The following themes were discussed by speakers and participants:

• Command and control (C2) weapon systems, operational superiority factors and new vulnerabilities
• What does French-German defence cooperation look like in the 21^st century?
• Innovation and defence: what are the objectives? What are the priorities? Who are the stakeholders?
• Defence cooperation between London and Europe post-Brexit: business as usual?
• Europe’s strategic independence and NATO integration: capacity and strategy compatibility
• From Kabul to Mosul: what are the operational lessons learned and perspectives after 15 years of foreign military engagements?
• Controlling the area: strategic dimension of ground forces and perspectives

Respectfully submitted,

Borys Wrzesnewskyj, M.P.,
Chair of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association