The future European security architecture: a new middle powers’ bargain

Mr Petras Auštrevičius is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and a member of the European Parliament (EP) since 2014 (re-elected in 2019 and 2024). He serves as a full member on the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Security and Defence (SEDE), among other. He is the shadow rapporteur on Ukraine for his political group, Renew Europe. He also leads the Friends of European Ukraine group, which unites MEPs who are active in their work and support for Ukraine. In 2022, a few months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Second Degree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recognition of his dedicated work. From 2001 to 2002, he was a Chief Negotiator for Lithuania’s membership to the European Union. Mr Auštrevičius is a co-founder and first chairman of the Liberals Movement of the Republic of Lithuania.

Jaroslava Barbieri is a Research Fellow at the Ukraine Forum, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House. Her areas of expertise include Ukrainian politics and society, Russian foreign policy, European security and enlargement, disinformation and cognitive defence. She is also a researcher for the Ukrainian History Global Initiative, contributing to multiple research projects on Ukraine in collaboration with the Kyiv-based Public Interest Journalism Lab. Previously, she was a strategist for Zinc Network (a London-based strategic communications and international development company), a teaching fellow at the University of Birmingham and a researcher at the Arena programme, SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University. Her media commentary has appeared in British and international media, including CNN, BBC, Sky News, The Telegraph, France 24 and Deutsche Welle.

Goulard is the former French minister of the armed forces, the second woman ever to hold the head position, and has previously served as member of the European Parliament, where she addressed issues related to fighting poverty and advocating for gender equality in European institutions. Goulard began her career as a diplomat in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the pandemic, Sylvie Goulard was appointed by the World Health Organization to serve as a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development in order to ensure that health tops the political agenda.

A Latvian politician, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica is a Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, where she sits on the Committee of Foreign Affairs and Committee of European Affairs. She serves as a Head of the Latvian Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Previously, Kalniņa-Lukaševica held numerous posts at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including as the parliamentary secretary, in which role she was responsible for ensuring cooperation between the ministry, the Latvian parliament and the European Parliament. She has also represented the Latvian government at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings of development and trade ministers. Kalniņa-Lukaševica started her professional career at Jurmala’s city council and then went on to work at the Strategic Analysis Commission of the President of Latvia, where she served as an advisor to the president.

Dharmendra Kanani is Director of Policy & Programmes and Chief Spokesperson at Friends of Europe. Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.