Russian Coal: Europe's New Energy Challenge March 9, 2010
On March 9, GMF, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), hosted an event in Brussels that featured Kevin Rosner's paper, "Russian Coal: Europe's New Energy Challenge." The paper looks at the complex relationship between natural gas and coal within Russia's energy and power sector and how this relationship influences energy security and climate change. Europe receives large quantities of its natural gas from Russia.
NATO and Afghanistan: the Ambassadors’ Perspective February 24, 2010 Washington, DC
On February 24, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted a luncheon roundtable discussion on NATO and Afghanistan: the Ambassadors’ Perspective, featuring Ambassador Ivo Daalder, permanent U.S. representative for NATO, Ambassador Kim Traavik, permanent Norwegian representative for NATO, and Ambassador Stefano Stefanini, permanent Italian representative for NATO. GMF Executive Vice President Karen Donfried moderated the event. The roundtable focused on the future of Afghanistan, NATO’s mission there, and the implications of that mission for NATO.
India Forum February 20, 2010 London
On February 20 and 21, GMF held the inaugural India Forum in London, in partnership with the Legatum Institute and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As well as broader discussions on relations between Europe, the United States and India, sessions included conversations on reforming international architecture, the rise of Asia, the unfolding situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the future of the Indian economy, maritime security and counterterrorism. India Forum convenes policymakers, intellectuals, journalists, and businesspeople from Europe, the United States, and India to facilitate cooperation and coordination through informal discussions.
Lady Ashton speaks at GMF civil society meeting in Belgrade February 19, 2010 Belgrade
On February 18, GMF’s Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), in cooperation with the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, hosted EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, along with other prominent representatives of civil society for a meeting in Serbia.
The complete remarks of Catherine Ashton are below:
Werner Hoyer discusses the Lisbon Treaty, Lady Ashton, and U.S. Foreign Policy at GMF event February 18, 2010 Washington, DC
On February 18, GMF and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung Für Die Freiheit hosted a panel discussion entitled "The First 80 Days: Is the Lisbon Treaty Working for Europe? And for the U.S.?" which analyzed the effect of the Lisbon Treaty on the EU and transatlantic relations. The panelists included the Honorable Werner Hoyer, Deputy Foreign Minister at the German Foreign Office and Dr. Charles A. Kupchan, senior fellow for Europe studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor of international affairs at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Book Launch Sparks Debate on Russia-Georgia War and European Security February 17, 2010 Washington, D.C.
On February 17, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted a book discussion and debate on A Little War That Shook the World: Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West by GMF Brussels Executive Director Ronald D. Asmus. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, the book discusses the causes and implications of the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008. Asmus was joined by Stephen Hadley, former national security advisor to George W. Bush.
A summary of the book and its public reception can be found here.
GMF Berlin Hosts Independent Commission on Turkey January 28, 2010 Berlin, Germany On January 28, GMF's Berlin office hosted the Independent Commission on Turkey for a presentation and discussion of its recent report, "Turkey in Europe: Breaking the Vicious Circle". The event featured Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel Peace Laureate of 2008 and former President of Finland; Emma Bonino,Vice President of the Italian Senate and former European Commissioner; Hans van den Broek, former Foreign Minister of the Netherlands and former European Commissioner; and Albert Rohan, former Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria. Karl-Heinz Klär, State Secretary of Federal and European Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate, provided introductory remarks.
Hill event analyzes Copenhagen Accord and the future of climate negotiations January 25, 2010 Washington, DC
On January 25, GMF's Climate & Energy program with the Embassy of Spain, hosted an event on Capitol Hill entitled "Decoding the Copenhagen Accord & Charting the Course Ahead." The event featured Teresa Ribera Rodriguez, Secretary of State for Climate Change, Spain; Luis Alfonso de Alba, Special Ambassador for Climate Change, Mexico; and Jonathan Pershing, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change, United States. GMF's Climate & Energy Program Director Cathleen Kelly and Spanish Ambassador Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo provided opening remarks. Nigel Purvis, Senior GMF Fellow and President of Climate Advisers moderated the discussion.
To watch the Clean Skies analysis of this event, please click here.
U.S. Undersecretary Hormats speaks at conference on the transatlantic economic partnership January 25, 2010 Washington, DC
On January 25, GMF in cooperation with Bruegel, a Brussels based think tank, hosted an event on Capitol Hill titled, "The New European Commission - A Renewal of the Transatlantic Economic Partnership?" This half-day conference, which featured panelists from international institutions, multinational corporations, think tanks, and the media, focused on the future of the transatlantic economic relationship in light of the global financial crisis; changes to the European Union's architecture; and recent shifts in global governance from the G-8 to the G-20. Robert Hormats, Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State , delivered a keynote address on the state of the transatlantic economic partnership and the future of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC).
To listen to the complete remarks of Undersecretary Hormats, please click here.
Power Shift: How the West Can Adapt and Thrive in an Asian Century January 22, 2010 Washington, DC
On January 22, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted a lunch featuring Ashley Tellis, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and author of a new GMF paper "Power Shift: How the West Can Adapt and Thrive in an Asian Century." Daniel Twining, GMF Senior Fellow for Asia, moderated the event.
As the Obama administration finalizes its new policy in Afghanistan and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepares to host an international conference on Afghanistan, the German parliament confronts a key vote on the country's commitment to the war. With growing public concern in both the United States and Germany, GMF is sponsored an America Abroad Media town hall event with German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke discussing the critical issues affecting Afghanistan, NATO, and the transatlantic alliance.
To watch highlights and discussion from the event, please click here.
Cook, Liberatore talk on U.S. Mid Term Elections and Obama's Agenda January 20, 2010 Berlin, Brussels
On January 19 and January 20, GMF's Berlin and Brussels offices hosted Robert G. Liberatore, GMF senior transatlantic fellow and Charles E. Cook, Jr., editor and publisher of "The Cook Political Report", for a discussion on "The 2010 Congressional Mid-Term Elections: What is Going to Happen and What Impact Will it Have on Obama's Agenda".
On January 20, Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister; Sergey Markedonov, Director of the Department for Problems of Ethnic Relations at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow; and GMF Executive Director Ron Asmus participated in a discussion about the war in Georgia and a new book on the same subject titled, A Little War that Shook the World: Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West. Audio and video from this event can be found below.
A summary of the book and its public reception can be found here.
Stockholm China Forum 6 January 17, 2010 Stockholm, Sweden
The Sixth Stockholm China Forum was held on the 17th and 18th of January, 2010, with the support of the STINT foundation, Riksbankens Juibeleumsfond and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agenda included discussions about the future of climate policy after Copenhagen, exit strategies from the global economic crisis, China's national security strategy beyond Taiwan, and the China-India relationship.
Transatlantic Trends: Immigration Reception for GMF and British Council Alumni January 13, 2010 Washington, DC
On January 13, GMF and the British Council co-hosted an event titled “The Effect of Immigration on Society.” The event was planned exclusively for alumni of both organizations’ leadership development programs. The evening opened with a presentation by GMF’s Delancey Gustin highlighting some of the findings of the recent Transatlantic Trends: Immigration public opinion survey. This overview was followed by thoughtful reactions from respondents Juan Carlos Lara-Armienta, Peter MacLeod, and Rabah Ghezali. Following their remarks, the speakers generated a lively discussion focused on the effect of immigration on society, the commonly-held perceptions of immigrants in various countries, and the governmental methods of handling of immigration.
European Commission Trade and Development director discusses trade policy and preference programs January 6, 2010 Washington, DC
On December 16, GMF hosted Peter Thompson, the director of Trade and Development for the Directorate General - Trade in the European Commission, for an event entitled "Trade as a Development Tool: A View from the EU." Thompson was joined by respondent Kimberly Elliott of the Center for Global Development, and the event was moderated by GMF Transatlantic Fellow Katrin Kuhlmann.
GMF hosts high-level discussions with climate leaders at COP15 January 4, 2010 Copenhagen
The German Marshall Fund sent a delegation of eight staff and two senior fellows to the two-week Copenhagen climate negotiations to host five high-level events. The goal of these events was to bring together key U.S. and EU stakeholders in the climate debate to network, share intelligence on the progress of the negotiations, and discuss transatlantic cooperation in securing a positive outcome at COP15. The discussions also focused on the likely implications of Copenhagen on domestic climate policy in the United States and Europe.
On January 28, GMF's Berlin office hosted the Independent Commission on Turkey for a presentation and discussion of its recent report, "Turkey in Europe: Breaking the Vicious Circle". The event featured 
As the Obama administration finalizes its new policy in Afghanistan and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepares to host an international conference on Afghanistan, the German parliament confronts a key vote on the country's commitment to the war. With growing public concern in both the United States and Germany, GMF is sponsored an America Abroad Media town hall event with German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke discussing the critical issues affecting Afghanistan, NATO, and the transatlantic alliance. 