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Mar 12 2025

OCCAR-EA Director participates in Paris Defence & Strategy Forum 2025

Paris/France 12 March 2025 – The OCCAR-EA Director, Joachim Sucker participated in a panel at the Paris Defence & Strategy Forum entitled: “How to Grow Fast Enough to Arm the Future: Building European Defence Capabilities at Scale” alongside Ms. Stacy A. Cummings, the General Manager of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) and Mr. Nicolas Chamussy, the CEO of KNDS France (formerly Nexter).

Given the critical juncture where the intersection of economic interests and defence spending presents both challenges and opportunities for European governments and the defence industry alike, timely topics of discussion on the panel included questions such as:

“How does European cooperation work between governments and the defence industry? What lessons can be shared on strengthening dialogue?”

“How can European industrial consortia remain competitive against US and China in response to the need for rapid rearmament?”

How can a balance be found between off-the-shelf purchases (to be fast enough + strategic alliances) and the preservation of the European defence industrial base (to be long enough) and finally: “What does expansion of the defence industry mean if there is limited capacity on defence production and new industries cannot be built? What is required to raise production of hardware and software?”

Mr Sucker concluded his thoughts with the following: “the intersection of economic interests and defence spending necessitates a delicate balance between stakeholder and shareholder values. By fostering robust European cooperation, enhancing our competitiveness, balancing procurement strategies, and expanding our industrial capacity, we can navigate these challenges effectively. Let us work together to ensure that the European defence industry remains a pillar of our collective security and economic prosperity”