The annual, week-long, in-resident course on European-led Security, Deterrence, and Defense (ESDD) held at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, focuses on areas of cooperation between the EU and NATO as agreed to in the Joint Declarations from 2016, 2017, and 2023. Senior civilian and defense officials and academics provide historic and contemporary insights to these critical European and transatlantic organizations. ESDD aims to engage participants in enabling a more self-reliant Europe. It will deepen understanding of NATO-EU cooperation and encourage discussion on burden-sharing among Allies and partners.

• Raise awareness toward enhancing EU–NATO cooperation broadly as well as in specific areas of cooperation.
• Build a lasting network of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian experts to support European defense commitments for the broader Euro-Atlantic community.
• Provide a convening environment in which high-level EU and NATO speakers and panelists can interact with and engage mid-level security practitioners from the Alliance, the Union, and partner nations.

Formerly the Seminar on EU-NATO Cooperation (SENC), ESDD is a one-week resident course at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Launched in 2021, it is usually held once per year. The seminar provides insights on selected areas where cooperation between the two organizations was agreed to in 2016 and that continues today. For instance, it highlights cooperation in fields such as defense industrial base, military mobility, countering hybrid threats, or joint capacity-building. The seminar discusses the impact of collaboration between these institutions in the context of strategic competition, the challenges for the Alliance, the Union and the member-states. It also elaborates on fields of cooperation of interest to partner countries. The high-level speakers and panelists in the Seminar on EU – NATO Cooperation are Brussels-based officials, as well as renown European security studies academics. The seminar fosters a professional network of security architecture representatives from EU and NATO member states plus befriended partner countries to reassure Europe’s flanks and the Euro-Atlantic community as a whole.