Classroom Strategy: College of Europe Opens Dedicated Security Faculty in Natolin

European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius officially inaugurated a new European Security and Strategy faculty at the College of Europe's Natolin campus in Warsaw on 12 October 2026. The new faculty establishes a dedicated academic center focused on security policy, defence strategy, and geopolitical analysis within the post-graduate institute. Speaking at the launch event in Warsaw, Kubilius highlighted the growing necessity for specialized European expertise in security, marking a formal expansion of the institution's long-established curriculum in international relations and European governance.

For decades, security and defence were strictly national affairs, discussed almost exclusively in sovereign capitals rather than shared European institutions. As geopolitical pressures push member states toward closer military and strategic alignment, the practical burden of coordinating joint defence initiatives falls on civil servants who must understand both tactical reality and institutional law. Establishing a specialized faculty creates a pipeline of analysts trained to handle cross-border security challenges, directly supporting the EU's expanding footprint in defense procurement, crisis management, and strategic policy.

The College of Europe occupies a quiet but central place in the institutional machinery, acting as the primary preparatory ground for generations of EU diplomats, commission officials, and policy advisers. In Brussels jargon, holding a diploma from Bruges or Natolin has long served as an informal passport into the diplomatic corridors. By creating a dedicated security stream, the institution reflects a broader reality inside the EU bubble: security considerations, once viewed as an auxiliary policy area, have rapidly become central to executive decision-making. Negotiators who once spent their days arguing over regional development funds are now increasingly tasked with handling strategic defense frameworks.

The newly inaugurated faculty will welcome its first cohort of post-graduate students and security researchers in Warsaw. Graduates of the program are expected to enter national foreign affairs and defence ministries, the European External Action Service, and various EU bodies responsible for coordinating defense cooperation across member states.