 Dear Michael ladies and gentlemen, I feel very honored to speak to you today the double IEA is a very important form for the exchange of thoughts and ideas between continental Europe and Ireland and I am very happy and grateful for the good relations between Ireland and Germany of course one more reason To be here with this in mind. I would like to offer you some insights into the German perspective on the future of European defense and The year 2020 is especially exciting for us in Germany with regard to the future of the European Union as It is our turn to take over the EU Council presidency from July 2020 onwards in our ministry. We have been and continue to be busy preparing and We look very much forward to the opportunities that the presidency of us to work together with the other EU member states. I will come back to that later. Of course We are all aware that the international security situation has become more fragile than before As you can see nowadays in the Middle East Since 2014 we have experienced disruptions such as Syria the annexation of Crimea and the migration crisis furthermore The international community is under enormous pressure and our liberal world order is constantly under attack by both international and external powers today We are confronted with a new security situation and one of the most prominent features of this new environment is What I would call the return of great power competition Instead of the end of history. We are experiencing a call for unilateralism and nationalism all over the world and The polarities in international relations are changing as well and new threats are on the horizon for each member state of the European Union and Of course the European Union is influenced by the British decision to leave the European Union In this respect, I'm very happy that we the as EU member states were able to demonstrate unity with Ireland during the Brexit negotiations so What can we do about these challenges and what role could or should be assumed by the European Union? All these developments have led to the realization that the EU needs to change and adapt To the new found threats and challenges the overarching goal is To increase the European Union's ability to act to contribute to security The EU must be able to stabilize neighboring regions and address security concerns We have to work together to respond adequately to the challenges we face and no member state Can deal with them on its own For that reason we Europeans started together to further enhance European Union's common security and defense policy one of the first achievements in order to increase the ability to act was the Initiation of Pascal the permanent and structured cooperation 25 member state agreed on binding commitments a closer cooperation in defense matters and Shared projects for capability development and more operational output We are very grateful for Ireland's contribution to the success of Pascal in various projects such as a project focusing on maritime surveillance Violence for Germany the integration of Pesco has always been of utmost importance and the Irish Participation in Pesco illustrates this in particular as we are well aware of the challenges this potential potentially poses to Ireland with a few to neutrality Pesco aims at deepening defense corporations by jointly Developing capabilities using synergies and overcoming closely fragmentation From the German perspective This was also a milestone Signaling the move to a more coherent and efficient future for European defense page Pesco is much more than cooperation in armament and Procurement due to its strong operational focus With regard to German coordinated projects first tangible results are becoming visible a good example is the European medical command in Summer 2019. We took an important step forward to generate direct operational output by having the first real capabilities ready We all benefit from this as we harmonize different national medical standards and ensure a better flow of information to give you an idea what the medical command is about in 2014 and 15 we had the Ebola crisis in Africa various European member states or countries reacted upon the request from the different African countries Today in a situation like this The medical command could share information for situational awareness and could also act as a Coordinating element for all European efforts Let me mention another project That vividly illustrates Significant progress the network of logistic hubs in Europe and support to operations The main aim of this project is the development of a European logistic network by the common Utilization of logistic hubs and subsequently the extensions of logistic or cooperation amongst participating member states again an Example to explain the idea of the project several EU countries are engaged in European missions and operating Operations abroad in Mali for example by Ireland also provide soldiers and by using one Dedicated logistic hub like the German installation in Funk start close to Frankfurt Logistical chains in support of our soldiers can be simplified and can be made more cost-effective via one lock up all soldiers on a specific mission or operation can be provided Efficiently and in a coordinated manner with the needed goods and material The majority of the project members has already announced logistic contributions and plans to Utilize Services and infrastructures provided by the partners as I have just described but we are also But we also are looking at them making at making Pesco better in 2020 Strategic review of all Pesco Projects will be conducted by all participating member states Although Pesco was a great achievement. It still can be improved This review will show where there's the need to do so. We have to be aware that Pesco does not lead to quick wins We need strategic patience and honest assessment If there are Pesco projects that are not producing the desired outcomes One should also take into account ending these projects Let me underline that we consider Pesco a success story from our perspective Pesco The nucleus and the heart of our vision for the long-term goal of establishing a European defense Union On our way to this European defense union We want to use our upcoming council presidency in 2020 to move the common security and defense policy short CDSP Forward together with the other EU member states Let me give you two examples of issues that we consider important for the next year for this year First of all, Germany has been pushing for a coherent process of further connecting the different initiatives in the CSDP The CSDP does however not only need to be more coherent, but it is also in need of more direction There's consensus that the European Union should be able to act in crisis management and that it should be able to protect its own interests That is why we need a definition of what we want to be able to do and what we want to prioritize We aim at creating new guidance, a so-called strategic compass From this document, we then can derive more concrete goals Which then will lead to the definition of operational requirements and subsequently operational outputs Concrete goals and outputs are necessary To convincingly show that the European Union has the ability to act In the regions of crisis management and to protect its interests Showing that we Europeans are a credible actor can also help to illustrate the benefits of a more developed and elaborate Defense cooperation for our partners in NATO I know you are not a member of NATO, but I know we share the interest to enhance the cooperation between European Union and NATO Highlighting and improving European Union's partnership with NATO is an additional topic of our Council Presidency next year, this year If the European Member States capabilities are increased and cooperation in the European Union becomes more efficient and practical This is also beneficial for NATO and of interest to non-NATO countries So overall, I can assure you that our Council Presidency will be used in close cooperation with all of the European Member States To further develop the CDSP to take more steps towards our ambition to create a more capable European Union Allow me now to broaden the scope a bit as I have been asked to also address European Union-United States-China relations, not an easy topic And of course not primarily defense related In this respect the emerging great power conflict between the United States and China is of concern to us We often are told that the European Union has no role in this unfolding competition. I disagree with this The European Union has a role to play in several areas From economic and trade affairs to the fields of diplomacy and security In 2018 the European Union was China's largest trading partner While the United States currently still is the largest trading partner of the European Union This interdependence is important to keep in mind as the European Union will continue to protect rules-based free trade Concretely, I think we Europeans need to propose a credible and attractive alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative As we are more than skeptical regarding standards for transparency and sustainable economic development The European Union's connectivity strategy launched in September 2018 provides such an alternative to connect the European Union with Asia better Coming back to security and its role in this great power competition. We often think of the South China Sea The European Union can exert influence in this area too It is in the European Union's interest to support negotiations of China and ASEAN member states With the respect to a code of conduct for the South China Sea And to put pressure on the negotiation parties to find an agreement Neighbor presence and defense diplomacy are further measures that can have a positive effect on the region's maritime security In the past Chinese security policy was characterized mainly by internal needs Today China seems to follow a path that aims at establishing more regional hegemony Chinese policy has reinforced its character of a more active self-confident enforcement of own interests and respective views of the international order This often opposes Western liberal values, ideas and interests However these liberal values are the cornerstone of the international rule-based order Therefore the West must stand together in a world where natural trust in multilateralism Rules-based order and our way of life are under more pressure than ever In all this we have to deal with a certain dilemma That is the risk of a widening conflict between our most important and irreplaceable guarantor of security The United States and our most important trading partner China In this respect I see us Europeans as an important partner to the S when addressing China We bring with us significant potential to shape The debate in Europe on this issue as I mentioned China will also be a focus of our upcoming German European Union Council presidency with the aim of finding a common European Union position on China To achieve this aim And Germany will for example host the European Union China leaders meeting in September 2020 in Leipzig Especially with our council presidency in mind We hope to improve both the relations with China With the scheduled EU China meeting As well as the relations with our transatlantic partners With a strong focus on European Union NATO cooperation So to sum up I am convinced that the European Union has an important role to play In promoting stability and security and in protecting the international order And not only in the area of trade and economy And this is in close coordination And synergy with efforts of NATO in the area of security and defense This is why we in the federal ministry of defense are so Determined to bring forward a CDSP And we are looking forward to closely work together with Ireland in this endeavor in our forthcoming European Union Council presidency presidency. Thank you for your attention