Expert Level workshop at NATO ENSEC COE

On the 24^th of October, an Expert Level workshop was conducted in the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence called "Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection: the Importance of the Public-Private Partnership", with the aim to share the accumulated knowledge about the security of energy infrastructures and it's implication to broader European and NATO security.

An additional goal was to create a platform for experts from various European countries to share their research with each other collectively, and to help the resident experts of the NATO ENSEC COE to diversify their perspectives.

The workshop was opened by ENSEC COE Directors COL Gintaras Bagdonas speech, followed by ENSEC COE fellow Dr. Tiziana Melchiorre introductory presentation about Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection. The Workshop's main topic was supported by presentations done by H.E. Mrs. Aušra Semaškienė, Ambassador at Large of the Republic of Lithuania, and Mr. Remi Mayet, Deputy Head of Unit B4 Security of Supply of the European Commission.

The workshop proceeded with presentations from the various speakers, who discussed topics ranging from Importance of Civilian energy infrastructures to the military defense capabilities and energy security risk assessment programs to cyber and informational attacks, and their importance to the energy infrastructure.

Among notable guests and speakers were: Major General Francesco Maurizio Noto, Director of the Energy Task Force in the Italian MoD; Mr. Koen de Smedt, Transnational Threats Department of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Mr. Stefano Bergonzini, Staff Assistant NATO Stability Policing COE, and other representatives from Ministry of Economics of Latvia, Military Intelligence of UK, French Ministry of the Army, Poland electric network (Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne).

In the end, the participants remarked that such a format of information sharing and discussions is beneficial towards interconnectedness and the furthering of the field in both academic and governmental levels.