The German government has been in office for one hundred days. At the time, it seemed as if every second sentence spoken by the traffic light coalition ministers spoke of new beginnings and progress. But instead of heading toward a green future, it now finds itself involuntarily in a situation that we thought we had […]
So now it hit him. Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn has tested positive for COVID-19 and must therefore stay at home when heads of state and government discuss further action in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It took long enough. Asselborn’s mask style is considered discreet-alternative: The mouth is covered, but the nose needs its freedom to […]
In view of the sixth summit between the European Union and the African Union, there has been much talk in recent days of a “partnership of equals”: the EU Commission is talking about a partnership based on trust and common interests. Two continents working “hand in hand,” demanded Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in […]
Space. Infinite expanses. These are the adventures… Stop! Wrong film. Or is it? Yesterday, Industry, Internal Market, Defense Industry, and Space Commissioner Thierry Breton outlined his plan to build a European satellite communications network in more detail.“Our new connectivity infrastructure will deliver high-speed internet access, serve as a back-up to our current internet infrastructure, increase […]
With great words of praise, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock yesterday introduced her future State Secretary. As of March 1st, Jennifer Morgan, who is still head of Greenpeace, will formally become the new special envoy for international climate policy at the German Federal Foreign Office. The US citizen has already applied for German citizenship and […]
Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action – does that fit together? In Germany, not everyone is convinced by a long shot. In France, too, Robert Habeck’s new job description raises eyebrows. In Paris, the roles are still distributed differently: During his inaugural visit yesterday, Habeck first met Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, who also […]
It is not often that US senators or international media are interested in intra-party discussions in Germany. But how representatives of the SPD position themselves in the conflict with Russia has become a real political issue. “Germany is reeling from the first crisis of the post-Merkel era,” wrote the Financial Times.Leading SPD politicians such as […]
“We don’t comment on comments made by others” is a principle that the European Commission’s Spokesperson’s Service established for good reasons. Even before politicians discovered social media, just about every little thing deserved to be commented on – in the political sense, of course. And where would the Commission end up if it took a […]
Public diplomacy, in part, is the art of advocating for one’s own country’s concerns and perspectives through public speech and action and raising awareness of both among others. This form of diplomacy is not necessarily a great strength of German politicians. Helmut Kohl came closest to achieving this in Gorbachev’s dacha in July 1990, Helmut […]
“Now you’re really taking me quite far into a technical, detailed discussion,” says Christian Lindner. The FDP politician is currently completing his first “doorstep” in Brussels, and the journalists are bombarding him with questions in several languages. They want to know: What does this man, who appeared as a godsend to several EU capitals before […]