2017 NATO Center of Excellence Directors' conference held in Budapest

The Annual NATO Center of Excellence Directors meeting has commenced on 26-28th of September in Budapest, Hungary, hosted by the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine. In attendance were the directors of all 24 Centers of Excellence as well as various representatives from NATO Allied Command Transformation. NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence was represented by center's Director Colonel Gintaras Bagdonas.

The aim of the COE Directors Conference is to provide the primary venue to bring together all COE Directors and equivalent representatives from NATO Bodies and Multinational Organizations. As well to inform on all of recent developments, compare experiences, discuss NATO-COE cooperation, provide a forum for an exchange of views on the way ahead and thus, facilitate the directors networking in order to increase the individual and collective effectiveness of the Centres.

The conference was headed by NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine Director Col. Dr. Laszlo Fazekas and Allied Command Transformation Network Branch Head Col. Roberto Esposito.

The notable speakers for the conference were Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Admiral M. Nielson and Deputy Chief of Staff Capability Development Lt. Gen. J. Lofgren.

One of the main topics of the conference was the NATO COEs interaction of with the various European Union institutions and organizations, which would facilitate closer beneficial ties. Another major topic for discussion was the impact that adaptation of the NATO Command Structure has on the various COEs.