From March 11 to 13, 2025, the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) was honored to participate in the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum (PDSF)—a major international platform dedicated to European security and defense. Organized by the Académie de Défense de L’École Militaire (ACADEM), the PDSF serves as a hub for strategic discussions and cross-disciplinary debates on pressing geopolitical, security, and technological challenges.

Building on the success of its first modest participation last year, ICE played an active role in this year’s forum and contributed in three key ways:

1) As part of the exhibition space, ICE, with an ICE exhibition stand, engaged with a broad audience of professionals, policymakers, and academics, fostering dialogue on intelligence cooperation and European security.

2) Former high ranking German Intelligence Officer, former Head of the civilian EU Intelligence Fusion Center EU INTCEN, and current Intel. & Security advisor of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Dr Gerhard Conrad has delivered one of the opening keynote speech.

While insisting on ICE’s commitment to foster European intelligence cooperation, he has explained why no stronger European Defence and Security could occur without a stronger European Intelligence cooperation and a better common culture. For that, He has insisted on the need to first use the existing structures such as the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC, regrouping the strategic civilian & military fusion centers) or the EU SATCEN (satellite Agency, headquartered in Torrejon, near Madrid), before thinking about creating new structures which risk to create more harm than good and will not be operational in due time, i.e. in the next 18een to 36 months.

3) ICE hosted a highly engaging roundtable on "Youth and Intelligence," in order to emphasise the vital role of young professionals in shaping the future of European intelligence cooperation. The discussion highlighted existing initiatives that aimed at fostering intelligence awareness and education among youth, such as:

• The two main Lithuanian processes, the "Intelligence Officer for a Week" competition for students sponsored by the ICE Secretariat and the "Back to School" program, authorizing young Intel. & Security professionals to explain their job in their alma mater,
• The many Italian educational & sensitization initiatives directed towards high school and middle school students,  
• The training programs set up in the College of Europe in order to reinforce the intelligence & security awareness and to explain the basics of the EU intel. & security set up to future EU administrators-studying in Bruges,
• The various university studies made in Europe.

The session was expertly moderated by Dr Cristina Ivan, Romanian ICE PoC, Professor at the national Intelligence Academic ANIMV and member of the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE). Other Esteemed panelists where:

- Ruben Arcos, Professor at Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, and the College of Europe, Bruges; Spanish representative in IAFIE and, since the beginning of March, Head of the Intelligence Studies Section (ISS) of the International Studies Association (ISA). Also one of the active members, with Cristina Ivan, of ICE Academic Advisory Board,

- An Italian member of the national Intelligence Academy,

- The winners of the Lithuanian "Intelligence Officer for a Week" competition, a stiff competition existing since 5 years among the best, young, students of the Vilnius University.

Furthermore, Gerhard Conrad was invited to participate to the recorded interview of the “Café Stratégique”, in order to feed a podcast, on the EU Intelligence set-up that will be made largely accessible in the coming days.

Looking Ahead

The PDSF continues to grow as a key platform for European strategic thinking, and ICE is proud to contribute to these crucial discussions, through the mobilization of its Academic network. ICE will join, as an official partner, ACADEM in the next weeks, illustrating the interest to join forces at the European level to reach out the critical mass.

As we look forward to PDSF 2026, we remain committed to strengthening cooperation between our members, promoting European intelligence education and engaging the next generation. It will help enhancing a common, strategic, intelligence culture and a more natural partnership spirit in Europe, as Erasmus or EMILYO have helped to do.

 See you at PDSF 2026!