The 7th Forum of the Commanders of European Land Forces will be held in Athens from 9 November to 11 November 2021 with the participation of 28 Army Chiefs of European States and the Commander of the US-Europe-Africa Command (USAREUR-AF).

The Forum was opened by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Mr. Nikolaos Chardalias, followed by the address of the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence Staff General Konstantinos Floros, while opening speech was delivered by the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis. Speeches were also delivered by the Deputy Ministry of Education and Religion responsible for higher education and Associate Professor of International Law and Foreign Policy at Panteion University, Mr. Angelos Syrigos, the Honorary Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and Chief of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), General (ret.) Michail Costarakos, the Honorary Chief of the National Guard General Staff and Honorary Commander of the 1st Army / EU-OHQ General (ret.) Elias Leontaris, the Executive Director of the Institute of International Relations of Panteion University Mr. Konstantinos Filis, the Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at Panteion University Ms. Maria – Eleni Koppa, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Manufacturers of Defence Material Association Mr. Anastasios Rozolis, the Commander of the Land Forces of Germany Lieutenant General Alfons Mais, of the Netherlands Lieutenant General Martin Wijnen and of Romania, Major General Iulian Berdilă.

The main topic of the Forum, which was held for the first time in Greece, was the challenges faced by the European Armies and the ways to deal with them. In particular, the topics discussed were the rapid advancement of technology and its impact on the combat capability and survivability of the Land Forces, the humanitarian crises such as the immigration / refugee flows and their handling as challenges to stability and security, the threat of climate change, the development of military doctrines and tactics, the demographic and cultural impact on the recruitment of highly qualified personnel and the impact of these factors on the deployment of Land Forces, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the fields of Defence and Security.

In the margins of the Forum, the Chief HAGS Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis had meetings with the Commander of the US-Europe-Africa Command (USAREUR-AF) General Christopher Cavoli, as well as with his counterparts from France General Pierre Schill, from Great Britain General Mark Carleton-Smith and from Estonia Major General Palm Veiko – Vello. During these meeting that were held in an excellent atmosphere, topics of mutual interest were discussed.

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