FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Former NATO Leaders to Trump: Don’t Make Bad Deals with Putin

New Atlanticist
May 6, 2025

Is Merz’s double-take chancellor vote a sign of things to come in Germany?

By
Jörn Fleck and Jurek Wille

It took two rounds of voting in the Bundestag to elect Friedrich Merz chancellor, a sign of division unprecedented in modern German history.

Defense Policy
Elections

Former NATO Leaders to Trump: Don’t Make Bad Deals with Putin

New Atlanticist
Feb 19, 2025

Germany’s economy has gone from engine to anchor. Here’s what the next chancellor faces.

By
Piotr Arak

Revitalizing growth in Germany’s economy, which appears increasingly mired in stagnation, will demand urgent action from the next chancellor.

Economy & Business
Elections

Former NATO Leaders to Trump: Don’t Make Bad Deals with Putin

New Atlanticist
Feb 4, 2025

The next German chancellor must lead from the front, not the middle, on European security

By
Rachel Rizzo, James Batchik

From support for Ukraine to defense spending, German leaders would be wise to take the phrase Führung aus der Mitte permanently out of their vocabulary.

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Germany’s digital minister on Europe’s digital competitiveness

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Tue, May 6, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

What to expect from Germany’s next government

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The Europe Center promotes the transatlantic leadership and strategies required to ensure a strong Europe.

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New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2016

Former NATO Leaders to Trump: Don’t Make Bad Deals with Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Anders Fogh Rasmussen warn against turning Ukraine into a ‘bargaining chip’ US President-elect Donald Trump must not strike any deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin that turn Ukraine into a “bargaining chip,” and must send a clear signal of commitment to the security of the United States’ NATO allies, two former […]

European Union France
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Sept. 27, 2016

NATOSource

Nov 7, 2016

German Defense Minister Wants EU Military to Match NATO

By Andrea Shalal, Reuters

Germany’s defense minister said on Monday the European Union must modernize its military defense and security to match NATO’s drive to beef up its own security forces in the wake of a major Russian build-up.

European Union Germany
A Russian Su-27 Flanker jet photographed from an RAF Typhoon, June 17, 2014

NATOSource

Nov 7, 2016

Russia has Violated NATO Air Space at Least Five Times this Year

By Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post

Just ahead of the U.S. presidential elections, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be pushing his conflict with the West to new heights.

Germany NATO

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2016

Don’t Expect Quick Resolution to Europe’s Only Active War

By Vera Zimmerman

The most disputed point about the Minsk agreements has been whether to hold local elections in the Donbas before Ukraine regains control of its border with Russia, or after. Ukraine has insisted that security and the return of the border should precede elections, while pro-Russian separatists and Moscow have been pushing for the opposite, as […]

France Germany
Ambassador Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven

NATOSource

Oct 21, 2016

NATO Selects German Diplomat as New Chief of Intelligence

By Wall Street Journal, German Embassy in Prague, and Hamburger Abendblatt

From Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has appointed its first intelligence chief, a post designed to help the alliance improve information sharing and counterterrorism coordination….

Germany Intelligence

UkraineAlert

Oct 18, 2016

Europe Funds Russian Aggression in Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond

By Mykhailo Gonchar and Hanna Hopko

Three-Fourths of Russian Oil Sold to Europe On October 20, the Council of the European Union will consider its strategy toward the Russian Federation. Following the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Europe faces a genuine challenge: to recognize Russian aggression against Ukraine for what it is, and to provide truly […]

European Union Germany
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Sept. 8, 2016

NATOSource

Oct 12, 2016

Turkey Purges NATO Military Envoys after Failed Coup

By Robin Emmott , Reuters

Turkey has fired hundreds of senior military staff serving at NATO in Europe and the United States following July’s coup attempt, documents show,

Germany NATO
Transport loader for Iskander-M missile system, May 9, 2015

NATOSource

Oct 11, 2016

Russia’s Deployment of Nuclear Capable Missiles Near NATO Border Alarms Allies

By BBC, AP, and Reuters

From Jonathan Marcus, BBC:  Russia’s deployment of nuclear-capable missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave is setting off warning bells in the Baltics and at Nato.

Germany NATO

UkraineAlert

Oct 5, 2016

Berlin or Bust: Germany Key to Maintaining Sanctions on Russia

By Oksana Bedratenko

When Russia illegally annexed Crimea and armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, the United States and the European Union jointly condemned it. Together they introduced sanctions on Russia in July 2014 that limited access to finance for key companies in Russia’s energy, defense, and financial sectors; froze assets and banned travel for officials directly involved in […]

Germany Russia

Defense Industrialist

Sep 26, 2016

Applying an investor’s mindset to military aid

By James Hasik

Restricting US military aid may affect more than Israeli industry and the IDF. As has been widely reported, the United States and Israeli governments have come to a new ten-year understanding of how the former will subsidize the latter’s military spending. The new amount that the Obama Administration promises to submit annually to the US […]

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James Batchik

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