Since 2023, the European Commission’s Legal Service has pursued an outreach policy to highlight the importance of Union law for citizens and to provide a forum for discussion of the most pressing legal challenges.Building on the success of this forum of exchange, the Legal Service will hold its fourth Annual Conference on 17 April 2026 in the Charlemagne building, Brussels. The conference will focus on EU defence policy and on simplification as a potential driver of competitiveness. It will bring together judges, legal scholars and practitioners, both in private practice and in-house, as well as lawyers from the Union institutions, Member States’ administrations and other stakeholders, for reflection and debate. Register here Registration will open in 2 weeks. You can register from Monday 2 March 2026, 09:00 (CET), until Friday 10 April 2026, 18:00 (CEST). common security and defence policy | competitiveness | EU law Friday 17 April 2026, 08:30 - 16:30 (CEST)Brussels, BelgiumLive streaming available Programme 17 Apr 2026, 08:30 - 09:30 (CEST)Registration and welcome coffee09:30 - 09:45 (CEST)Welcoming remarksMr Alberto De Gregorio Merino, Director-General of the Legal Service, European Commission 09:45 - 12:00 (CEST)FIRST SESSION: Towards a genuine European Defence Union: the legal landscape of EU defence policy9:45 – 10:00 Keynote speechMr Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission10:00 – 12:00 RoundtableModerator: Ms Yona Marinova, Assistant to the Director-General of the Legal Service, European CommissionPanellists:Ms Mikaela Kumlin Granit, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the European UnionMr Jean-Baptiste Laignelot, Director, External Relations, Legal Service of the Council of the European UnionMs Belén Martínez Carbonell, Secretary-General of the European Union’s External Action ServiceDr. Carolyn Moser, Max Planck Institute, Research Group Leader, European security revisited (ENSURE) 12:00 - 12:15 (CEST)Closing remarks of the first sessionMr Clemens Ladenburger, Deputy Director-General of the Legal Service, European Commission12:15 - 13:45 (CEST)LUNCHNetworking Lunch (buffet provided for the conference attendees)13:45 - 16:00 (CEST)SECOND SESSION: Simplification: the key to unlock competitiveness in the Union?13:45 – 14:00 Keynote speechMr Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, European Commission (tbc)14:00 – 16:00 RoundtableModerator: Gregor von Rintelen, Deputy to the Director of Directorate A (Business Law) of the Legal Service, European CommissionPanellists:Mr Jean-Denis Combrexelle, Président de section honoraire du Conseil d’État (Honorary Section Chairman of the French Conseil d’État)Prof. Dr. Meinrad Dreher, Former Judge at the Constitutional Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, Former Chair of European Law, Private Law, Commercial and Business Law, and Comparative Law at the Johannes Gutenberg University of MainzDr. Alix Frank-Thomasser, Chair of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) Company Law CommitteeMs Kerstin Jorna, Director-General of the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEsMr Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General at the European Court of Justice Show 1 more items16:00 - 16:15 (CEST)Closing remarks of the second sessionMr Paolo Stancanelli, Director of the Directorate F (Institutions) of the Legal Service, European Commission Practical information WhenFriday 17 April 2026, 08:30 - 16:30 (CEST)WhereAlcide De Gasperi room, Charlemagne building Rue de la Loi 170, 1000 Brussels, Belgium LivestreamStarts on Friday 17 April 2026, 09:30 (CEST)LanguagesEnglish, French, German Description For this fourth edition, the Legal Service has chosen two highly topical themes currently at the centre of legal and policy discussions: Towards a genuine European Defence Union: the legal landscape of EU defence policySimplification: the key to unlocking competitiveness in the Union?The first theme will explore the Union’s rapidly evolving defence policy and its legal foundations at the intersection of the TEU and the TFEU. Discussions will consider how competences, instruments and institutional roles interact; how EU action interfaces with Member States’ responsibilities; and what the next steps towards achieving a true European Defence Union could be.The second theme will examine simplification as a potential driver for competitiveness: what it can realistically deliver, where legal constraints and trade-offs lie, and how to ensure that simplification supports effective regulation and implementation. The conference will facilitate in-person exchanges throughout the day, including during the networking lunch. It will also be accessible online via webstreaming for those unable to attend in Brussels.We look forward to welcoming you to the fourth Annual Conference of the European Commission Legal Service.
For this fourth edition, the Legal Service has chosen two highly topical themes currently at the centre of legal and policy discussions: Towards a genuine European Defence Union: the legal landscape of EU defence policySimplification: the key to unlocking competitiveness in the Union?The first theme will explore the Union’s rapidly evolving defence policy and its legal foundations at the intersection of the TEU and the TFEU. Discussions will consider how competences, instruments and institutional roles interact; how EU action interfaces with Member States’ responsibilities; and what the next steps towards achieving a true European Defence Union could be.The second theme will examine simplification as a potential driver for competitiveness: what it can realistically deliver, where legal constraints and trade-offs lie, and how to ensure that simplification supports effective regulation and implementation. The conference will facilitate in-person exchanges throughout the day, including during the networking lunch. It will also be accessible online via webstreaming for those unable to attend in Brussels.We look forward to welcoming you to the fourth Annual Conference of the European Commission Legal Service.
