AIES at the European Network Conference on Research Security in Delft
Senior Advisor Georgios Kolliarakis chaired a session on Defence-Related Technologies
May 28, 2026 / Delft / European Security and Defence
Georgios Kolliarakis, AIES Senior Advisor, organised and chaired a session on Defence-Related Technologies, R&D and Research Security during the 1st edition of the European Network Conference on Research Security, which took place in Delft, the Netherlands, 26-27 May 2026.
The session Defence-related Dual-Use Research in Europe: Navigating the Grey Zone has taken notice of the fact that defence expenditure in Europe is on the rise, with significant implications for research and innovation. The ecosystem of research performing organisations involved in commissioned or competitive R&D activities, from university research institutes to SMEs and start-ups, is rapidly expanding. What is more, most of those technologies assessed as disruptive and critical for military purposes are of dual-use character and are developed also in the civil domain, however, under lower security provisions.
The session explored the requirements for a paradigm-shift in research-funding and research performing organisations in Europe when dealing with the grey zone between civilian and defence applications, and the resulting risks of hybrid interference and of intentional or inadvertent misuse. For example, How to cope with dual-use research and innovation in ICT, including cyber- and AI-enabled applications, which, unlike nuclear technologies, cannot be governed via the "high fence/small-yard" model to prevent illicit international diversion for building components of autonomous weapons.
Against the backdrop of the 2024 European Economic Security Strategy, the discussion addressed the question of how to balance the promotion, international partnering, but also the protection/restriction of critical technologies from getting exploited and misused by malicious actors, how to establish reliable technology-centred risk assessments which are at the same time sensitive to the shifting geopolitical context. Not least, which “hard” and “soft” regulatory elements should be part of a “Playbook” in Europe for fostering the benefits of security-related R&D, while preventing such research from being weaponised.
Brynja Oskarsdottir, Director Science and Technology Committee at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Ioannis Legouras, Director Brussels Office, Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, Michail Pothitos, Technology Strategy Advisor at CEO's Office, Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation, Greece, Christine Prokopf, National Contact Point Security, VDI Technologiezentrum, Germany, and Christian Resch, Military CBRN Officer and Research Manager, Federal Ministry of Defence Austria, have exchanged on the state of play of defence research and capability development in Europe, and also for safeguards which need to be in place for research funding and research performing organisations in order to prevent foreign malicious interference and misuse of edge research and innovation.
Photo: Roy Borghouts
Related Events
Workshop on Research Security
16.03.2026 / Trends and Prospects for Austria and Europe