Second Reunion of the Körber Network Foreign Policy
Berlin, November 26-27, 2010
For the second time since the foundation of Körber Network Foreign Policy five years ago, current members and alumni met in Berlin for the Second Körber Network Foreign Policy Reunion. Some of the guests travelled to Berlin from Addis Ababa, Rabat, Kyiv, London and Brussels to take the opportunity to discuss the future of German foreign and security policy.
The reunion began with a dinner on Friday, November 26 at the residence of the British Ambassador in Berlin. David Marsh, Chairman of the strategy consultancy SCCO International and author of “The Euro – The Politics of the New Global Currency,” gave the keynote dinner speech, “Germany, Europe and the Euro,” in which he talked about the future of European monetary union and Germany’s role in Europe.
The following day there were three panel discussions at which the participants talked about “Quo Vadis Germany? The future of German foreign policy.” Knut Abraham, Deputy Head of Division 214 (United Nations, human rights, and foreign cultural und educational policy) of the Federal Chancellery, and Michaela Miller, member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, opened the first panel discussion with a review of German foreign policy since 1990 and an analysis of future challenges.
Knut Abraham stated that as a global player Germany is becoming stronger and adopting a more pro-active approach, especially in the EU, the G8 and G20. Michaela Miller pointed out that Germany still has to tap its resources more effectively by clearing up overlapping and conflicts between government ministries.
In the second session, Christoph Schwegmann, Advisor to the Minister’s Office of the Federal Ministry of Defence, and Lars Brozus, Researcher at the Research Division EU External Relations of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), focused on the topic “The future of German foreign missions”.
Christoph Schwegmann raised the question of assessing the success or failure of foreign missions. While other European countries were concentrating on the lessons learnt, Germany was still questioning the rationale and benefits of its foreign missions. Lars Brozus suggested that future foreign missions of the German Federal Armed Force would be different. Rather than becoming involved in military terms, the German Federal Armed Force would concentrate on training schemes and strengthening the civil infrastructure. In the long term, private agencies and mercenaries would play a greater role in military operations.
Ronja Kempin, Head of Research Division EU External Relations of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and Florian Escudié, Counsellor of the French Permanent Delegation to NATO in Brussels, commented on “Security risks of the 21st Century.”
Both agreed that new global challenges such as cyber warfare and climate change call for new global approaches. Nevertheless, well known security risks such as the proliferation of nuclear weapons and failing states require closer international cooperation and a mix of new and conventional strategies.
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