The Global Policy Center of IE University joins NATO Public Forum 2025 to discuss defense and stability in Europe

At the NATO Public Forum 2025 in The Hague, the panel "NATO and the EU: Working Together for the Defence and Stability of Europe" brought together three distinguished experts to discuss how Europe can strengthen its defense capacity in an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment. The discussion was moderated by Kristine Berzina, Managing Director for Geostrategy North at the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., and featured Ilke Toygür, Professor of Practice at IE University and Director of the IE Global Policy Center, Nathalie Tocci, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali; and Katarzyna Pisarska, Chair of the Warsaw Security Forum.

The discussion focused on the evolving EU-NATO relationship, with particular attention to hybrid threats, defense spending, and strategic fragmentation. Nathalie Tocci reflected on the EU’s needed transition from a soft power actor to a serious defense player, noting significant progress since 2014. However, she cautioned that both NATO and the EU face internal obstacles—ranging from lack of consensus to financing instruments—that could hamper the EU’s ambitions. She advocated for the formation of “coalitions of the willing to act now” as a flexible framework to forward movement.

Speaking from Poland’s frontline perspective, Katarzyna Pisarska underlined the immediacy of security threats facing Eastern Europe, including hybrid warfare tactics like disinformation and the weaponization of migration. She stressed the need for regional preparedness, practical defense measures, and stronger messaging to reassure citizens about NATO and EU commitments.

Ilke Toygür emphasized the structural transformation of European security, arguing that the EU must become an autonomous provider of security and prosperity. She advocated for sustainable, long-term defense investments and deeper EU integration—particularly through completion of the single market—as essential enablers of a strong and competitive European defense industry. Public opinion, she noted, must be engaged more meaningfully to ensure legitimacy and support for these strategic shifts.

As Europe confronts a more complex and uncertain global landscape, the panel offered a clear call: build complementarity, invest smartly, and prepare the public for the long journey toward a more secure, capable, and united Europe.