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 hosts the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum for the ninth time. Under the headline “From Ambition to Action: Making Multilateralism Work” the Berlin Forum will 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 will open 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, will discuss the role of Europe in a geo-economic world.

Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, will open the discussion about Europe’s (South-)Eastern neighbourhood. David Zalkaliani, Georgian Foreign Minister, Nicu Popescu, Moldovan Foreign Minister, Valery Voronetsky, Chairperson of the Commission on International Affairs of Belarus, and Olena Zerkal, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, will debate the role of the EU in (South-)Eastern Europe.

The afternoon will begin with a “Conflict Zone” discussion in cooperation with DW. İbrahim Kalın, Presidential Spokesperson, Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, will answer questions by moderator Tim Sebastian and the audience. Furthermore, in an interview moderated by Britta Sandberg (DER SPIEGEL), Annalena Baerbock, Co-Chair of Alliance 90/The Greens, will talk about German and European foreign policy.

The Berlin Forum will conclude with a discussion about current challenges in arms control with State Secretary Antje Leendertse, Alexander Grushko, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Thomas DiNanno, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for defence policy, emerging threats, and outreach, and Major General (ret.) Yao Yunzhu, former director of the Center on China-American Defence Relations of the People’s Liberation Army.

At the Berlin Forum, Körber-Stiftung will present 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, Jacek Czaputowicz, Polish Foreign Minister, and Maia Sandu, Moldovan Prime 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 60.000 live views in 2018, the Berlin Forum reaches a broad European and international audience. Questions and comments can be contributed via Twitter with the hashtag #BerlinForum.

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