Photos by David Ausserhofer
The 2025 German-American Conference at AXICA Convention Center on Pariser Platz in Berlin once again brought together high-ranking experts from politics, business, and the security sector to discuss the challenges in the transatlantic partnership.
Atlantik-Brücke’s Chairman, Sigmar Gabriel, emphasized the historical significance of German-American friendship in his welcome speech: “There could hardly be a more symbolic occasion than holding a German-American conference on war and peace here in Berlin today. Eighty years and four days ago, the capitulation of the Wehrmacht signed in Berlin-Karlshorst marked the end of the Second World War and the beginning of an unprecedented era of peace in Europe. American soldiers gave their lives to liberate Europe from Nazi barbarism. And in the decades that followed, America’s commitment to a free Europe remained unwavering.”
Ambassador John B. Emerson, Chairman of the American Council on Germany, stated that the partnership between the U.S. and Europe would not come to an end under the new Trump administration. “I am optimistic,” he added.
At the panel on “Evaluating the Immediate Security Challenges Before Us,” the most pressing security issues were debated by ACG Board member Dr. Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University; Professor Peter Neumann, Professor of Security Studies in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London; and Omid Nouripour, Vice President of the German Bundestag (Alliance 90/The Greens). The panel was moderated by Atlantik-Brücke’s CEO, Julia Friedlander.
Dr. Kupchan emphasized: “Europe still needs the U.S. and the U.S. needs Europe just as much. I would encourage our European friends not to give up. Trump is only a symptom of geopolitical shifts, not the cause.” Professor Neumann highlighted the importance of the United Kingdom for Germany and noted that the tectonic shifts in the world order would last an entire generation.
At the panel on “Geopolitical Power Rebalancing,” the reordering of global power dynamics was examined by Dr. Claudia Major, Senior Vice President for Transatlantic Security at the German Marshall Fund; Dr. Norbert Röttgen, a member of the German Bundestag (CDU); and Ambassador Kurt Volker, Co-Chair of BGR Group and former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.
Ambassador Volker remarked: “We are in a period of transition. Trump is the phenomenon of a time of upheaval.” Dr. Major identified the handling of China as a central issue that demands a clear response.
Uwe Horstmann, Founding Partner & General Manager at Project A Ventures; Alicia Fawcett, Director of Cyberthreat Intelligence at DuskRise; and Sven Weizenegger, Head of the Cyber Innovation Hub of the German Armed Forces, discussed “The Future of Warfare,” including new forms of warfare.
Mr. Horstmann emphasized: “Since 2025, the world of defense has fundamentally changed. It’s like night and day when you compare today’s situation with the time before.” The panel agreed: There is no alternative for Europe but to unite and act together.
The panel “Beyond Earth’s Boundaries – Space as the 21st-Century Battlefield” featured former ACG Board member Dr. Esther Brimmer, James H. Binger Senior Fellow in Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs; Patrick O’Keefe with Space Operations at the NATO Centre of Excellence for Operations in Confined and Shallow Waters (COE CSW); and Juliana Süß, Associate in the Research Group International Security in the project Strategic Threat Analysis and Nuclear (Dis-)Order (STAND) at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). The discussion highlighted the growing importance of space in security policy.
Ms. Süß pointed out that despite its everyday relevance (e.g., for GPS), space is often underestimated in strategic and security considerations.
Prefaced by a lecture from Professor Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University, the panel on “Warfare without Weapons” brought together Dr. Michael Hüther, Director and Member of the Presidium of the German Economic Institute (IW); Emily Kilcrease, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security; and Fritzi Köhler-Geib, a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, to discuss the economic dimensions of security policy.
Dr. Hüther remarked: “Trust in the U.S. has already declined — just look at the dollar exchange rate. At the moment, it’s not yet the end of the dollar, but these are interesting times. Perhaps we’ll soon have four leading currencies, not just one.”
At the panel “Isolated Conflict and Global Proportions,” Dr. Liana Fix, Fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations; Alexander Gabuev, Director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center; and Dr. A. Wess Mitchell, Principal and Co-Founder of The Marathon Initiative and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, analyzed various global conflict scenarios. The discussion was moderated by ACG President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sokol.
Dr. Mitchell emphasized: “It should be clear to Europeans by now that China is the primary focus of the U.S. That’s why it must be in Europe’s interest to take care of its own defense capabilities and security.”
The closing keynote on the future of the transatlantic security architecture was delivered by former U.S. National Security Advisor Lt. General H.R. McMaster. He stressed that the year 2025 marks a turning point in transatlantic relations and that it is high time for Europe to wake up and take responsibility for its own defense.
“The real turning point could have already come in 2008, after the invasion of Georgia,” Lt. General McMaster said. Even back then, Russia had invaded Europe.
After a day of intense exchange and challenging discussions, conference participants departed with the sense that while the challenges for German-American relations are significant, such geopolitical upheavals also present opportunities for new beginnings.
(Summary originally posted by Atlantik-Brücke on their website on May 13, 2025)
Click below for the Conference Recording:
Click below for Original Summary in German: