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Fourth Annual Conference of the European Commission Legal Service

Join us in Brussels or online for a timely discussion on the legal and policy challenges of building a genuine European Defence Union, and on whether simplification is the key to unlocking the Union’s competitiveness.

  • Conferences and summits

Dear participants,

We would like to extend our gratitude to each and every one of you for making the Fourth Annual Conference of the European Commission Legal Service a resounding success.

We are excited to announce that the audiovisual recording of the live streaming sessions is now available for viewing. Whether you missed a session or want to revisit a particular talk, you can access the recordings at the following link:  https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/annual-conference-of-the-ec-legal-service-2026-04-17

Once again, thank you for your invaluable contribution to the success of the conference. We look forward to welcoming you to our future events.

Best regards,

The Conference Organisation Team

  • common security and defence policy | competitiveness | EU law
  • Friday 17 April 2026, 08:30 - 16:30 (CEST)
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Live streaming available

Programme

  1. 17 Apr 2026, 08:30 - 09:30 (CEST)
    Registration and welcome coffee
  2. 09:30 - 09:45 (CEST)
    Welcoming remarks

    Mr Alberto De Gregorio Merino, Director-General of the Legal Service, European Commission 

  3. 09:45 - 12:00 (CEST)
    FIRST SESSION: Towards a genuine European Defence Union: the legal landscape of EU defence policy

    9:45 – 10:00    Keynote speech

    Mr Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission

    10:00 – 12:00    Roundtable

    Moderator: Ms Yona Marinova, Assistant to the Director-General of the Legal Service, European Commission

    Panellists:

    • Ms Mikaela Kumlin Granit, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the European Union
    • Mr Jean-Baptiste Laignelot, Director, External Relations, Legal Service of the Council of the European Union
    • Ms Belén Martínez Carbonell, Secretary-General of the European Union’s External Action Service
    • Dr. Carolyn Moser, Max Planck Institute, Research Group Leader, European security revisited (ENSURE)
       
  4. 12:00 - 12:15 (CEST)
    Closing remarks of the first session

    Mr Clemens Ladenburger, Deputy Director-General of the Legal Service, European Commission

  5. 12:15 - 13:45 (CEST)
    LUNCH

    Networking Lunch (buffet provided for the conference attendees)

  6. 13:45 - 14:00 (CEST)
    Launch of the book “Exploring the new frontiers of EU law”

    by Ms Florence Clotuche-Duvieusart, Director of the Directorate M (European Civil Service Law) of the Legal Service, European Commission and Ms Hilde Hardeman, Director-General of The Publications Office.

  7. 14:00 - 16:15 (CEST)
    SECOND SESSION: Simplification: the key to unlock competitiveness in the Union?

    14:00 – 14:15    Keynote speech

    Mr Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, European Commission

    14:15 – 16:15   Roundtable

    Moderator: Gregor von Rintelen, Acting Director of Directorate A (Business Law) of the Legal Service, European Commission

    Panellists:

    • 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 Mainz
    • Dr. Alix Frank-Thomasser, Chair of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) Company Law Committee
    • Ms Kerstin Jorna, Director-General of the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and , European Commission
       
  9. 16:15 - 16:30 (CEST)
    Closing remarks of the second session

    Mr Paolo Stancanelli, Director of the Directorate F (Institutions) of the Legal Service, European Commission

Practical information

When
Friday 17 April 2026, 08:30 - 16:30 (CEST)
Where
Alcide De Gasperi room, Charlemagne building
Rue de la Loi 170, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Languages
English, 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 policy
  • Simplification: 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.

Fourth Annual Conference