The generals meeting on Salamis to debate strategy on the eve of the battle would probably feel quite at home in some of the meetings in Brussels or Frankfurt – although they would probably complain about the weather! After all, European integration began in common defence against a perceived existential threat, during the Cold War.
Ever since, it has been propelled forward in response to a succession of threats and crises. This was certainly the case in both the examples I just mentioned, which produced landmark institutional reforms, including the SSM, which has brought us here this evening. The process may well continue in the face of the war in Ukraine and its geostrategic and energy implications for Europe.