The MAS Conference (Security and Defence Monitor - SDM)

16.04.2019

The Defense and Security Monitor organized on Tuesday the Transatlantic Security Bridges Conference
amid the discrepancies between the major security strategies - Romania's Vision, among the leading
event guests being experts in the Defense field, high-ranking military and intelligence services.

The event was organized by the Defense and Security Monitor and took place on 16 th April 2019 in
Bucharest at Hotel Marriot.

The conference addresses the decision-makers and specialists in the areas of security, defense and
European affairs working in the public or private fields, academia and research on security issues
national and international as well as all those interested in understanding and anticipating the current
regional security dynamics and the place occupied by Romania in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture.

The agenda of the conference:

- The challenges of security in a world of "primordial ties";

- National, regional and global actors in the challenged global governance architecture;

- Factors of (In) security of change in an increasingly confusing world;

- Emerging technologies that shape the emerging new global system.

Main Ideas of the MAS Conference:

- The United States maintains its commitments and affiliation with the North Atlantic Alliance

- In the Black Sea area we need to adapt quickly to change

- Romania is a key element in security

- The European Army is an important project, but today security can only be provided by NATO

- The EU is not designed for collective defense

- Russia will not attack NATO, but it can shake Alliance members

- Russia uses propaganda to destabilize the population

- NATO countries need to step up counter cyber risks

Pentagon's analyst, Arnold Dupuy, said Romania is in a geographical position that offers both advantages
and vulnerabilities, and the resources at its disposal can make it a regional leader in the energy area, an
opportunity that NATO should treat very seriously.
Also, Romanian Minister for European Affairs George Ciamba said at the conference that if Great Britain
leaves the European Union, Romania will become the sixth largest country in the European Union. He
also added that Romania has to deal with several situations, such as the anti-Semitic or energetic files
and that there must be no major difference between the GDP of the European countries.

Conference objectives

 Debating the hot topics of vision contradictions and security strategies on the two sides of the
Atlantic in the context of reaffirming traditional factors of power and the primacy of statehood
on the international scene;
 Analysis of the sense and scale of collision between unilateral and multilateral security models in
the current Euro-Atlantic security context;
 Problems of survival issues or strengthening transatlantic cooperation during the "First" strategy
and global geopolitical transformations under the impact of globalization 4.0;
 Marking of national, regional and global security actors and their initiatives to enhance
transatlantic partnership and interoperability, as seen in Bucharest;
 Analysis of US and EU security convergence in the Black Sea region, as well as the impact of
hybrid threats on this area, focusing on Romania's central role in ensuring regional stability and
security;
 The forms and formats of joint defense against the influence and hostile actions of Russia in
central and eastern Europe;
 Identifying the role and critical aspects of security and intelligence partnerships between Euro-
Atlantic military and civilian areas of responsibility and initiative;
 Analyzing the impact of new technologies on transatlantic security and identifying innovative
models for future security, with emphasis on artificial intelligence, cyber security and increased
autonomy of complex weapons systems.

Speakers

 Charles "Chuck" Wald - Former deputy commander of the US forces deployed in Stuttgart,
Germany
 Carol Rollie Flynn - Associate Professor of the National Security Research Program of the
Research Institute for Foreign Policy, Washington D.C.
 Anthony Pfaff - Military Professor in Ethics Professor at the Institute of Strategic Studies of the
United States War College Army. He was a military attaché in the Middle East
 Arnold Dupuy - Associate to Booz Allen Hamilton and senior energy security analyst at the US
Department of Defense
 Jeffrey Bonvicin - Senior Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington DC.
Former senior intelligence officer in the CIA
 Hans-Lothar Domröse - Former Commander of the NATO Joint Force Command from Brunssum
 George Sharkov - Cyber Security Advisor of the Bulgarian Defense Minister
  Arvydas Pocius - Ambassador of Lithuania to Bucharest
 Cristian Diaconescu Ambassador, former Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs
 Silviu Rogobete - Professor of Philosophy at West University of Timisoara, former Consul
General of Romania in South Africa
 Adrian Curaj - Former Minister of National Education and Scientific Research. Director General of
UEFISCDI
 Iulian Chifu - Former Presidential Adviser for Strategic Affairs and International Security of the
President of Romania
 George Ciamba - Minister for European Affairs
 Flaviu Turcu - Associate Professor at "Babeş-Bolyai" University of Cluj Napoca
 Liliana Popescu Vice-Rector of the National School of Political and Administrative Studies
 Sergiu Medar - former adviser to the National Security of the President of Romania and former
head of the National Intelligence Community
 Niculae Iancu - Senior Editor, Monitor of Defense and Security

Source: www.mediafax.ro; www.masconferences.ro