The Firewall
In a recent speech, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde once again reminded Germany of the consequences of not acting on the current crisis. According to Alexander Privitera, while German officials were quick to shrug off the latest comments, Berlin may be more flexible in its options to help the euro than many believe.
Measuring Movement in Munich
In this week’s At Issue, Executive Director Jack Janes writes from this year’s annual Munich Security Conference (MSC). A benchmark for the defense discussions of the transatlantic community for almost fifty years, the conference has had to continually incorporate new global threats and concerns in its agenda. With the centers of global power continuing to shift away from Cold War era alignments, the challenges for the US and Europe require increased dialogue with more partners and players around the globe.
“A Small but Fine Piece” – More Small than Fine
Prof. Dr. Andreas Freytag takes a look at the outcome of this week’s EU summit in Brussels. According to Prof. Dr. Freytag, while the agreement of a fiscal pact by 25 of the 27 EU member states was good news, European leaders once again failed to address several key issues of the crisis.
Iran: Through the Looking Glass
As tensions rise over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the European Union has ratcheted up its pressure on Iran with an oil embargo. Tehran is now threatening with an embargo of its own, while the United States leaves its threat of military action on the table and Israel worries about the clock running out of time to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Is 2012 the year where war becomes inevtiable? And what can Germany or the EU do to prevent it?
Merkel’s Summit
Rarely has one of the recent European crisis summits had as little impact on the public mood as the one just concluded in Brussels on Monday of this week. Reactions …
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Support Our WorkNATO and Emerging Security Challenges: Beyond the Deterrence Paradigm
Michael Rühle discusses the role of NATO in the context of emerging security challenges facing the global community. According to Mr. Rühle, the use of force by NATO will no longer be enough to counter new and unexpected challenges. To continue to be effective moving forward, NATO must find a new approach to the security obstacles that lie ahead.
Go West, Amerika?!
Dr. Patrick Keller ist Koordinator für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Berlin. 2002 war Dr. Keller ein DAAD/AGI Fellow. November 2011 bei einer sicherheitspolitischen Konferenz im kanadischen Halifax: Anne-Marie …
The President’s Pitch
Elected government leaders at any level of government are always expected to give speeches; most enjoy the chance to be on stage. With their speeches, national leaders are given roles …
Ten Years of WTO Doha Negotiations: New Impetus Required
In this report, Oliver Wieck proposes a new impetus to overcome the ongoing deadlock in the WTO Doha negotiations. German industry has a huge interest in a strong multilateral trading system with bilateral free trade agreements offering additional market opening. The recent initiative between the EU and the USA to intensify the economic ties could not only boost genuine transatlantic market opening but should also set a clear signal to the new economic powers like China, Brasil and India to join the “Club of Free Traders”.
Splendid Isolation
In his analysis entitled Splendid Isolation, Alexander Privitera explains how Germany is becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of Europe in the fight to fix the euro. With recent bond auctions in Italy and Spain providing some optimism for the euro zone, Germany may be quick to herald the success of German-style austerity in Europe. However, according to Mr. Privitera, the plan to save the euro is actually becoming less German.
Downgrades and Default
In his essay Downgrades and Default, Alexander Privitera explains that while last week’s European downgrades may not have roiled markets, they have some European leaders fuming. Though some European politicians have begun pointing fingers across the Atlantic for the recent rating cuts, according to Mr. Privitera, the problem lies within Europe itself. Until an effective plan for dealing with Greece is put forth, the euro zone crisis will continue.
Is Germany Losing its Allies?
Following a recent statement by Dutch central banker Klaas Knot, argues Alexander Privitera, it appears that Angela Merkel is beginning to lose her ally in the Netherlands when it comes to fighting Europe’s debt problems. According to Mr. Privitera, Germany’s seemingly slow approach to the Euro crisis could place them on the outside of future negotiations.
