FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Completing Europe

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

Completing Europe

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

Completing Europe

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

Events

Public Event
Thu, July 24, 2025 • 8:45 am ET

Germany’s digital minister on Europe’s digital competitiveness

Digital Policy
Economy & Business
Germany

Online Event
Tue, May 6, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

What to expect from Germany’s next government

Elections
Europe & Eurasia
European Union
Germany

Program

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

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Content

New Atlanticist

Nov 6, 2009

Completing Europe

By Damon Wilson

In the wake of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, “Europe whole, free and at peace” was not just a vision; it was a successful policy leading to the consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and the integration of the region into Europe’s great institutions. This outcome was neither easy nor obvious.

Central Europe Eastern Europe
Berlin Wall Freedom

New Atlanticist

Nov 6, 2009

President George H.W. Bush on the Fall of the Berlin Wall

By George H.W. Bush

I am delighted to join the Atlantic Council in commemorating the 60th Anniversary of NATO and the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Fall of the Wall was first and foremost a testament to the spirit of the German people.

Germany United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2009

Margaret Thatcher: Reflections on Winning the Cold War

By Margaret Thatcher

As the world celebrates 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall it is right that we should reflect on the impact of those momentous months.

Germany United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2009

Reflections on German Unification

By David Marsh

David Marsh talks to Lord Douglas Hurd of Westwell, who served as British foreign secretary from 1989 to 1995.

Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 4, 2009

1989 Started New Era of Globalization and Geopolitics

By Josef Ackermann

The fall of the Berlin Wall in the autumn of 1989 was an exceptional event in German and world history. As a German-speaking Swiss national living in Zurich at the time, I was deeply moved by the events.

Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2009

A Hymn to Liberty and Friendship with a Caveat: The View from Germany

By Benjamin Preisler

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech in front of a joint session of Congress was treated to positive while not glowing reviews in Germany.

Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2009

Beyond Containment: How the Cold War was Won

By Condoleeza Rice

Historians are often tempted to imbue the peaceful end of the Cold War with a sense of inevitability. With the benefit of hindsight, they frequently point to a seemingly predictable sequence of events in which Mikhail Gorbachev’s campaign to restructure the Soviet system ultimately exposed its internal contradictions and seamlessly contributed to its collapse. 

Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 3, 2009

The Wall . . . Always the Wall: Frederick Forsyth’s Cold War Berlin

By Frederick Forsyth

I do not recall the exact day but it was surely in early August 1963 that Harold King, the iconic Bureau Chief of Reuters’ bureau in Paris called me in, and he was not best pleased. I thought it was I who had invoked his impressive ire, but it was news from London. 

Germany

New Atlanticist

Oct 22, 2009

Westerwelle First Liberal German Foreign Minister in a Decade

By Benjamin Preisler

Guido Westerwelle of the FDP will likely emerge from coalition talks between Germany’s main parties — the CDU, CSU (Conservatives) and FDP (Liberals) — as the country’s new foreign minister, marking the first time a Liberal has held the office in a decade.

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Oct 2, 2009

Whither Europe’s Left?

By James Joyner

The magnitude of the win of Angela Merkel’s coalition, coming on the heels of a center-right romp in the recent European Parliament elections and the ouster of several socialist-leaning governments in recent months, has spawned much hand-wringing about the decline of Europe’s Left.

Germany
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Experts

Fellow

Nik Foster

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Energy & Environment

Fellow

Samuel Denney

Nonresident Fellow

Transatlantic Security Initiative

English Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Tyson Barker

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Europe Center

Cybersecurity Digital Policy

Staff

James Batchik

Associate Director

Europe Center

Central Europe Digital Policy

Executive Leadership Intensive participant

Noel Coenraad

Strategy Advisor, Vattenfall AB

Millennium Leadership Program

Energy Transitions Germany

Fellow

Hanna Dohmen

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Chinese
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