THE AMERICAN COUNCIL ON GERMANY

A high-level conference
“The United States, Germany, and Europe: Building a Global Agenda”

co-sponsored by the American Council on Germany
and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)

January 12-13, 2006
Washington, D.C.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers an address.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell greets Chancellor Merkel.

ACG Chairman Garrick Utley. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Robert M. Kimmitt, DGAP President Dr. Arend Oetkar, and ACG President William M. Drozdiak.

In January, the American Council on Germany (ACG) and the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) made a significant contribution to re-energizing the transatlantic partnership: Timed to coincide with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s first visit to the United States as Chancellor, the ACG and the DGAP jointly organized a conference in Washington, D.C., on “The United States, Germany, and Europe: Building a Global Agenda.” This title is a sign of how the transatlantic relationship is being redefined: It is less bilateral in nature and more based on global issues which need to be managed by Europe and the United States in tandem. The conference was structured to address the themes which will characterize the relationship in the coming years.

In the opening panel, Amb. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, and Christian Schmidt, Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry of Defense, discussed “Challenges of the 21st Century: The Atlantic Alliance and the New Security Environment.” In the session, which was moderated by ACG President William M. Drozdiak, it became clear that Iran, the Balkans, Russia, and Ukraine are high on each country’s list of priorities. Amb. Burns stressed that Washington considers Germany to be a key partner, but also that it expects Europe to develop the greater military capacities it has long promised.

After outlining the challenges we face, conference participants were invited to a dinner hosted by German Ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger at his residence. Almost 200 representatives from Washington’s “strategic community” and the media were in attendance, including prominent guests such as Madeleine Albright, Alan Greenspan, and Colin Powell. In her keynote address, Chancellor Merkel made clear that she is interested in close cooperation with President Bush and that she would take a pragmatic approach to any issues. She also said that the fact that German and American national interests sometimes diverge is natural, and she advocated an honest, open dialogue. Her comments resonated well with those present. After her
strong performance at the EU finance negotiations, some in the Washington audience consider her the de facto leader of the European Union. Chancellor Merkel’s remarks set the tone for the rest of the conference: She gave the leading transatlanticists grounds for optimism that the relationship would be revitalized.

The second conference day opened with a panel on the impact of globalization on the United States and Europe which was moderated by the Director of the DGAP, Eberhard Sandschneider, and featured John Lipsky, Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Investment Bank; Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends; Karsten D. Voigt, Coordinator of German-American Cooperation in the German Federal Foreign Office; and Dominic Wilson, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. In each of their remarks and the discussion thereafter, they covered a range of macroeconomic issues, such as the rise of China and India and demographic trends in the west.

Over lunch, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Robert M. Kimmitt spoke about transatlantic economic relations. He focused on the WTO negotiations and the debate in Germany over hedge funds – which he regards as dangerous.

The final panel, titled “A Common Energy Strategy and Its Consequences,” was moderated by Karen Donfried of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and featured Markus Ederer, the Head of the Policy Planning Staff in the German Federal Foreign Office, and former CIA Director Amb. James Woolsey, who is currently Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. In their remarks, they analyzed long-term strategies to reduce dependency on oil.

At the closing dinner, Deputy Secretary of State Amb. Robert Zoellick spoke about German-American cooperation in promoting democracy and development. In his remarks it became clear that he is optimistic about the future of the transatlantic partnership, but that actions must follow the rhetoric.