Does Germany Need an Economic Pivot?
With customary fanfare, Germany’s political heavyweights recently opened the construction site of a new semiconductor facility in Saxony. For Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the newly confirmed European Commission President Ursula …
Gambling Europe’s Future
Overcome by a bout of despair, the French president confided to one of his closest advisers that “this is a country which is disintegrating, and I can do nothing about …
Revising Germany’s Playbook
For More European Unity When faced with criticism about his commitment to Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz usually reminds audiences of numbers—German military support to Kyiv is the highest in Europe—and …
German Strategic Culture
Small Steps or Side-Stepping? Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still in search of the right balance between courage and prudence in addressing the …
The Legacy of Ursula von der Leyen
Is the EU Fit for the New Global Disorder? The recent political turmoil in Washington seems to have triggered a new bout of angst among European partners. It served as …
Episode 88: The Geoeconomic Evolution of Germany and AGI
On this episode of the Zeitgeist, guest host Dr. Eric Langenbacher, Senior Fellow and Director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program, continues our AGI at Forty podcast series with …
Restarting the Franco-German Engine
After months of very visible frostiness, the Franco-German tandem is working on a reset: Berlin and Paris have realized they cannot afford the relationship to degrade further. Regardless of shifts in …
The European Central Bank’s Inflation Dilemma
Major central banks have finally accepted that inflationary pressures are here to stay. Both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank now admit that price increases are not a …
Scholz’s Next Big Challenge: Reforming the EU’s Debt Rules
The Ukraine crisis has caught the new German government largely by surprise and is providing an early test for the new coalition and its leader, Chancellor Olaf Scholz. His response …
AGI Asks: What is Angela Merkel’s Legacy for European Integration?
AGI Asks: What is Angela Merkel’s European legacy? Erik Jones Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Angela Merkel will be remembered for many things, but her grudging pragmatism in response …
Draghi to the Rescue, Act Two
Italian prime minister Mario Draghi describes his own country as “beautiful, but fragile.” The former central banker is trying to replicate in Italy what he did for the monetary union …
Will the EU’s Climate Law Turn Europe Green?
In a few weeks, the European Union will unveil the long awaited European Climate Law, designed to “set the direction of travel for EU climate action, give predictability for investors …