FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

It’s Time to Scrap the Minsk Agreement

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

It’s Time to Scrap the Minsk Agreement

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

It’s Time to Scrap the Minsk Agreement

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.

Elections
Germany

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Tue, February 25, 2025 • 9:00 am ET

Debriefing Germany’s federal elections

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Content

New Atlanticist

Jun 29, 2016

It’s Time to Scrap the Minsk Agreement

By David J. Kramer

Editor’s Note: On June 22, Ambassador John Herbst and David Kramer debated whether we should bury the Minsk agreement, the troubled ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, DC. Their remarks have been adapted from the debate. The Minsk ceasefire agreement, signed February 15, 2015, by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, […]

Germany OSCE

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 28, 2016

With Brexit Looming, United States Advised to Forge Ties with Germany, the UK

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Germany has economic and political dominance in Europe, said Atlantic Council board member R. Nicholas Burns In light of the British decision to leave the European Union, US President Barack Obama and his successor must forge a closer bond with Germany and shore up the “special relationship” with the United Kingdom, said R. Nicholas Burns, […]

European Union Germany

UkraineAlert

Jun 27, 2016

The Dangerous Perspective of Theo Sommer

By Alexander J. Motyl

This time, Theo Sommer has outdone himself. After closing his eyes to the mass murders of the Soviet regime in an article published on May 31, the editor-at-large of Germany’s prestigious Die Zeit newspaper has now demonstrated in a just-published piece an alarming ignorance not just of Ukraine but of elementary strategic logic. The former […]

Germany Ukraine

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 24, 2016

EU’s Salvation a Priority

By Anders Åslund

David Cameron will go down as one of the most foolish prime ministers in British history. By placating populist sentiment and agreeing to hold a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union to manage tensions in his own Conservative Party, he has taken his country out of relevant international politics, forced himself […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union
morningstar_tile.jpg

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 24, 2016

Post-Brexit, Germany ‘Has to be Very Careful’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

We asked our experts to tell us what the European Union needs to do differently in light of the referendum. This is what they had to say: Richard L. Morningstar is the founding director and chairman of the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council and a former US ambassador to the EU.  The EU […]

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 24, 2016

Brexit: Losers and Winners

By Ben Nimmo

The United Kingdom will emerge as the biggest loser from its voters’ decision to exit the European Union.  The United States loses a useful ally in its dealings with the European bloc, but it has others. France and Russia benefit, while Germany under Chancellor Angela Merkel will look increasingly vulnerable. Italy, Poland, and Spain have […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union
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Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 24, 2016

EU ‘Must be More Transparent’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

We asked our experts to tell us what the EU needs to do differently in light of the referendum. This is what they had to say: Fran Burwell is vice president, European Union and Special Initiatives, at the Atlantic Council. There are two things that the EU needs to do to change. First, it needs […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 24, 2016

Europe’s Soul-Searching Moment

By Ana Palacio

There is an old rule in lawyering, never ask a question if you are not certain of the answer. Three years ago, in a selfish gambit to solidify his personal mandate for a second term as prime minister, David Cameron did just that. His reward: thirteen extra months in 10 Downing Street entirely consumed by […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 24, 2016

Brexit a Boon for Europe’s Far-Right Populists

By Alina Polyakova

The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union will provide a massive boost to the isolationist, anti-immigrant, and eurosceptic policies of Europe’s far-right political parties.

European Union France

UkraineAlert

Jun 22, 2016

Now’s the Time to Block Nord Stream 2 and Step Up Ukraine’s Energy Diplomacy

By Olga Bielkova

Ukraine—a country that rejected aggression and militarization when it broke away from the Soviet Union—is fighting three wars today: the front in the east against an expansionist power, the battle within to defeat cronyism and corruption, and an economic war to reorient trade flows and modernize its economy. The world’s attention, as well as that […]

European Union Germany
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Samuel Denney

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Transatlantic Security Initiative

English Europe & Eurasia

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Tyson Barker

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Europe Center

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

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James Batchik

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