Fostering Inclusive Dialogue Around Nuclear De-escalation

On January 26, OEF’s Open Nuclear Network program held its inaugural annual Engagement Network (EN) retreat, featuring a keynote address by Lukas Mandl, an Austrian member of the European Parliament and Chair of the EU Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula. 

“Our annual Engagement Network Retreat is designed to mobilize a cohesive and functional Engagement Network, creating a bond between ONN and its Engagement Network members and between the members themselves, and brainstorming ideas on how we could best support the Network to fulfil our goals of reducing the risk that nuclear weapons are used in response to error, uncertainty or misdirection,” shares ONN Director, Laura Rockwood.  

The ONN Engagement Network is a carefully selected international team of high level trusted and credible individuals, including retired military and foreign policy officials, and other well regarded experts, who have knowledge, experience and access to nuclear decision makers and individuals associated with them. 

"The Open Nuclear Network team has set a very noble goal of creating a new universal engagement mechanism in North-East Asia, which is exactly what the region needs to overcome its long-suffered security issues! The road ahead may be long, but the ONN Engagement Network already provides an excellent platform for global security experts to exchange knowledge and opinions,” shares Dr. Ilya Dyachkov, an assistant professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

EU’s Engagement on Escalation Risks on the Korean Peninsula 

ONN was honoured to have MEP Mandl as its first keynote speaker for this important annual event, to facilitate high level collaboration with the relevant EU authorities promoting engagement with North Korea. His keynote session was invitation-only, gathering experts,  representatives of international organizations, and representatives from the US, Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia.

MEP Mandl’s keynote was focused on “Escalation Risks on the Korean Peninsula - EU Engagement.” The session showcased ONN as  a working platform for interaction between ONN’s  Engagement Network members and authorities dealing with conflict de-escalation on the Korean Peninsula. This offered all participants a prime opportunity to benefit from a frank and open discussion in an informal venue of many sensitive issues related to the Korean Peninsula.

Before joining the EU Parliament, MEP Mandl was a member of the State Parliament of Lower Austria and a lecturer at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He is featured in various publications and owns a podcast covering many security, political, and societal issues. 

Future Collaboration

MEP Mandl’s session created a positive momentum for opinion and expertise exchange, and has the potential to lead to ongoing beneficial collaboration among all the parties to achieve a common goal: nuclear risk reduction and peaceful resolution of conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Moving forward, both ONN and OEF as a whole look forward to working closely with the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula and supporting their efforts by providing continued relevant subject matter expertise and facilitating communication between the Parliament and other experts/government officials from that region.

Visit our website to learn more about ONN’s efforts to support OEF’s mission to create an earth beyond war through nuclear de-escalation using innovation and dialogue supported by open source data. To learn more about the EU Parliament’s efforts to promote nuclear risk reduction on the Korean Peninsula, visit MEP Lukas Mandl’s website. 

Read more about MEP Mandl's Keynote Address from the ONN Engagement Network retreat here.