THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
In the Spotlight
+++ Security and Defence +++
Impetus for European Defence!
Twenty years of the Berlin Security Conference Interview with Uwe Proll, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of ProPress / Behörden Spiegel-Verlag, Berlin
T
he European: Mr Proll, in 2001 you founded the Berlin Security Conference (BSC) and you are still its acting conference director, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021. I remember that in January 2000, you phoned me asking for a one-to-one meeting to reflect on European security and defence. And you said: “I have an idea!” Uwe Proll: At that time, after the St Malo Summit in 1998 and the Helsinki Headline Goals of December 1999, in line with the NATO summit in 1999, I was convinced that European security and defence could be built up as a coherent pillar within NATO in order to meet future threats. The European: When we met you brought up the idea of a Conference on European Security and Defence with a specifically European focus, in parallel to the Munich Security Conference, which successfully covers global policy. What was the strategy behind that idea? Uwe Proll: Firstly, it was my conviction that after the fall of the Berlin wall we couldn’t afford to give up our military capabilities in Europe, a tendency which was visible, especially in Germany, where there were calls for a “peace dividend” at a time when we were seeing continuous turmoil in the Balkans and the Mediterranean.
The European: In 2003 you moved the BSC from Bonn to Berlin – and the number of participants rose from 300 to about 1000. What was different? Uwe Proll: It was impressive to see how well the move to Berlin was accepted by all sides; we even had to be careful not to have too many German officials! And it was also an appropriate time to provide professional support for the concept, the speakers and the organisation. In 2007 therefore, I engaged Brigadier General (ret) Reimar Scherz as a moderator for the conference, with the task of preparing and moderating it. The European: What instructions was he given on the structure and content of the programme and the speakers? Uwe Proll (smiling): I gave him a mission – a standard type order in the sense of General von Moltke: prepare, organise and lead the conference to the highest and most serious
The European: What was your business model? Uwe Proll: I was convinced that a European Security Conference – that was the name in the first years – should be financed independently, not depend on any German or European government money and therefore rule out possible influence on the content of the conference. The European: What was the concept of your conference at the outset? Uwe Proll: Not only at the outset! The concept has proven its worth over the years: a focus on Europe, covering every aspect of security and defence. My idea was to stage discussions between key politicians from democratic parties around Europe, the Commission, academia, industry and the security forces. I also considered that there had to be representatives from the USA, Russia, Africa and Asia.
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Uwe Proll (left) and Hartmut Bühl discussing in the Garden of the PropPress publishing house in Bonn.
photo: ESDU
