In his keynote speech to the European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference "European Defence Matters" on 27 March in Brussels, Greek Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos called for common European answers to our most pressing security concerns. He argued that Europe was facing an arch of instability on its borders, the consequences of which could only be addressed by a combined approach. He went on to say that defence should not be seen as a separate entity but instead it was “one of the most critical pillars for European democracy, integration, cohesion, and growth.” He finished by calling for an enhanced role for the European Defence Agency. The full text of the speech can be found here. More information News "European Defence Matters: Free Debate on Role of EDA" (28 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: Speech by Dimitris Avramopoulos" (28 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: Keynote Speech by Catherine Ashton" (27 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: Speech by Pieter de Crem" (27 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: Securing the Future Through Research and Innovation" (27 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: How to Move Defence Cooperation Further and Faster" (27 Mar 2014) News "European Defence Matters: Turning Political will into Practical Implementation" (27 Mar 2014) News "Debating European Cooperation on Defence Capabilities" (27 Mar 2014) News "EDA Annual Conference Update: Roundtables on Capabilities & Defence Industry" (11 Mar 2014) News "EDA Annual Conference: European Defence Matters" (3 Feb 2014) Pictures of the Annual Conference are available on Flickr EDA Annual Conference webpage