Berlin Foreign Policy Forum 2019

“From Ambition to Action: Making Multilateralism Work”

25-26 November 2019, Berlin

On 26 November 2019, Körber-Stiftung in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office hosted the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum for the ninth time. Under the headline “From Ambition to Action: Making Multilateralism Work” the Berlin Forum set the stage for discussions on the most important current foreign policy challenges for Germany and Europe. How can Germany strengthen multilateral structures together with its key partners? How will election results in EU member states and of the European Parliament affect European integration and the EU's international role? Can we develop international regimes to control new technologies in warfare and prevent a new global arms race?

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas opened the Berlin Forum with a keynote speech together with the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Norway Ine Eriksen Søreide, followed by a discussion on how to strengthen multilateral structures. Moreover, Olaf Scholz, Federal Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe, Minister of Finance & Public Expenditure of Ireland, Nadia María Calviño Santamaría, Spanish Minister of Economy and Business, and Sabine Weyand, European Director-General for Trade, discussed the role of Europe in a geo-economic world.

David Zalkaliani, Georgian Foreign Minister, Valery Voronetsky, Chairperson of the Commission on International Affairs of Belarus, Olena Zerkal, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, and Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Bundestag, discussed Europe’s (South-)Eastern neighbourhood, and especially the role of the EU in (South-)Eastern Europe.

The afternoon began with a “Conflict Zone” discussion in cooperation with DW. İbrahim Kalın, Presidential Spokesperson, Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, answered questions by moderator Tim Sebastian and the audience. Furthermore, State Secretary Antje Leendertse, Alexander Grushko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Richard Burt, US Chair of Global Zero, and Zhao Tong, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, discussed current challenges in arms control.

The Berlin Forum concluded with a Spotlight Interview in cooperation with DER SPIEGEL. In an interview moderated by Britta Sandberg, Annalena Baerbock, Co-Chair of Alliance 90/The Greens, talked about German and European foreign policy.

At the Berlin Forum, Körber-Stiftung presented the third edition of its foreign policy publication The Berlin Pulse. It includes the results of a representative survey on the attitudes of the German public towards foreign policy: Should Germany strive for greater independence from the US in defence matters? Should the EU have been more accommodating during the Brexit negotiations? Is Germany a forerunner in climate policy within the EU? Prominent German and international authors, such as Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Jacek Czaputowicz, Polish Foreign Minister, express their hopes and expectations for German foreign policy in 2020. You can find all results and contributions here: www.theberlinpulse.org.

Once a year, the Berlin Forum convenes a group of 250 high-ranking politicians, government representatives, experts and journalists. In addition to the German foreign policy community, around half of the participants come from other European countries, the Middle East, Asia and the United States. Since its initiation in 2011, the Berlin Forum has become the most important forum for foreign and security policy debates in Berlin. Attracting more than 65.000 live views in 2019, the Berlin Forum reaches a broad European and international audience.

Rewatch the discussions here

On 26 November, eminent politicians, government representatives, experts and journalists came together at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum. The group of participants included representatives from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.

List of Participants (PDF)

Please find here selected national and international media coverage of the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum 2019.

Media Coverage (PDF)