Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is due to open Berlin’s 25th Security Conference Tuesday, as planned talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will address Ukraine support and European defense.
The program lists a session on Europe’s role in NATO at 3:20 a.m. ET (08:20 UTC), with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, German Minister of State Florian Hahn and European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius. A debate on containing Russian interference is scheduled for 5:50 a.m. ET (10:50 UTC), with Germany’s Permanent Representative to NATO, Dr. Detlef Wächter, and NATO military officials.
The German government says Merz is due to receive Nausėda at 4:15 a.m. ET (09:15 UTC) Tuesday. Their planned talks cover security and defense, support for Ukraine and Germany’s brigade in Lithuania. They are also expected to discuss Lithuania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2027, the bloc’s next long-term budget, competitiveness and enlargement.
The conference runs Nov. 3-4, with Lithuania as its 2026 partner nation. The organizer says the event has convened in Berlin each year since 2001 and receives no public-budget support. Its two-day schedule includes officials from Lithuania, Germany, the European Union and NATO, with sessions on deterrence and resilience alongside Ukraine-related events.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleg Dunda is listed at 6 a.m. ET (11:00 UTC) for “Innovation and European Capability Development.” A separate drone side event runs from 4 to 7:30 a.m. ET (09:00-12:30 UTC); its title refers to lessons from Ukraine, and its participants include Ukrainian military official Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Stetsiv.
The main program is scheduled to begin at 3 a.m. ET (08:00 UTC) Tuesday, with Nausėda as its opening speaker.
