Berlin Foreign Policy Forum 2021

Chances in Change: German Foreign Policy in an Era of Transformation

22-23 November 2021

Photo: David Ausserhofer

Held only months after the election, the Berlin Forum on 23 November 2021 offered exclusive insights into Germany’s foreign policy agenda in the post-Merkel era. Under the heading of “Chances in Change: German Foreign Policy in an Era of Transformation”, participants discussed the most important foreign policy challenges for a new German government and Europe. What should Europe expect from German foreign policy under a new government – continuity or change? How should Europe position itself in the intensifying tech competition between the U.S. and China? Can combatting climate change introduce a new era of multilateral cooperation? To what extent can the EU still contribute to stability and prosperity in its eastern and south-eastern neighbourhood? These and more questions were addressed in the 10-year-anniversary edition of the Berlin Forum.

Körber-Stiftung was honoured to welcome Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who as in previous years traditionally opened the Berlin Forum. The panel following his opening speech corresponded to the theme of new beginnings, in which panelists delved into how the formation of a new German government coincided with countless foreign policy challenges. Nathalie Loiseau, Franziska Brantner, Timothy Garton Ash and Bernadett Szél jointly explored the question of whether Germany and Europe were ready to move from crises to actions.

One of the biggest foreign policy challenges of 2021 was the rapid overthrow of the Afghan government by the Taliban. In a conversation with Nora Müller, Rangin Dadfar Spanta discussed what went wrong in Afghanistan and who can be seen as bearing responsibility for the humanitarian catastrophe.

As in previous years, Körber-Stiftung presented its foreign policy publication The Berlin Pulse at the Berlin Forum. The fifth edition of The Berlin Pulse focuses on the results of the 2021 survey with a view to German society's attitude towards foreign policy. Together with Pew Research Center, this edition explores the extent to which international expectations of Germany in the post-Merkel era and German public opinion diverge. In 2021, we are pleased to present authors such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Heather A. Conley, Patricia Espinosa, Kevin Rudd and Sheikh Hasina.

The afternoon programme began with a panel discussion that focused on the geopolitics of the digital transformation. How prepared is Europe for this new digital age? Eva-Maria Liimets, YAN Xuetong and Nadia Schadlow discussed how new technologies are influencing economic and security relations on a global scale.

The focus then turned to the EU's neighbourhood policy and opened the conversation on the extent to which Europe can still bring stability and transformation to the region. Körber-Stiftung was pleased to welcome Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Fiona Hill, Andreas Nick, Stefano Sannino to debate the EU’s influence in the region.

In view of the climate summit COP26, María Fernanda Espinosa, Nick Bridge and Parag Khanna reviewed the outcome of the climate summit together and touched upon the impact of the climate crisis on migration flows.

Finally, participants were encouraged to take a look at German politics: What can be expected from German foreign policy under the traffic light coalition? Omid Nouripour shared his perspective in a Spotlight Interview in cooperation with Der Spiegel and discussed future challenges for a new German government.

Due to ongoing extraordinary circumstances, the Berlin Forum in 2021 was again held as a hybrid event. Guests invited from around the world followed the event and participated in discussions via our interactive online conference platform.

Since its founding in 2011, the Berlin Forum has become the most important international annual conference on German and European foreign policy in Berlin.

Selected Speakers

Photo: Thomas Imo/photothek.net

Heiko Maas, MdB

Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany

Photo: Estonian Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Eva-Maria Liimets

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Estonia

Photo: Florian Freundt

Franziska Brantner, MdB

Parliamentary Whip for the Parliamentary Group of Alliance90/The Greens, German Bundestag

Photo: private

Yan Xuetong

President, Carnegie-Tsinghua Management Board

Photo: Marc Darchinger

Rangin Dadfar Spanta

Former Foreign Minister, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Photo: Arban Osmani

Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu

President, Republic of Kosovo

Gallery

Fotos: David Ausserhofer

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All Videos from the Forum

Videos of the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum 2021

Agenda

Monday, 22 November 2021

17:15 – 18:45
International Dialogue Revisited: The Spirit of Helsinki in an Age of Great-Power Competition

Sauli Niinistö, President of the Republic of Finland
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal President of Germany

Moderator: Nora Müller, Executive Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

9:00 – 9:30
Opening Remarks
Thomas Paulsen, Member of the Executive Board, Körber-Stiftung

Welcome Address
Heiko Maas, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Germany

9:30 – 10:30
Future-proof? Germany and Europe in an Era of Transformation

Nathalie Loiseau, MP, Chair, Subcommittee on Security and Defence; Renew Europe Group, European Parliament
Franziska Brantner, MdB, Parliamentary Whip for the Parliamentary Group of Alliance90/The Greens, German Bundestag
Bernadett Szél, MP, Member, Committee on European Affairs, Országgyűlés (Hungarian National Assembly)
Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford

Moderator: Shakuntala Banerjee, Deputy Head, Berlin Studio, ZDF

11:00 – 11:45
A Conversation with …

Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Foreign Minister and National Security Advisor, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Moderator: Nora Müller, Executive Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

11:45 – 12:15
The Berlin Pulse 2021/22: Transatlantic Relations in an Era of Transformation
In Cooperation with Pew Research Center

Interactive Presentation by Liana Fix, Programme Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung, and James Bell, Vice President of Global Strategy, Pew Research Center

12:30 – 13:45
Breakout Session 1: Ambitious France, Reluctant Europe? [exclusively for registered participants]
In Cooperation with Institut Montaigne

Sylvie Goulard, former Member, European Parliament
Michel Duclos, Senior Advisor, Institut Montaigne

Moderator: Georgina Wright, Senior Fellow and Director, Europe Program, Institut Montaigne

12:30 – 13:45
Breakout Session 2: The Geneva Conventions in the Digital Age [exclusively for registered participants]

Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross
Marietje Schaake, International Director of Policy, Cyber Policy Center, Stanford University; President, CyberPeace Institute

Moderator: Alisa Vogt, Programme Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

12:30 – 13:45
Breakout Session 3: Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in International Affairs [exclusively for registered participants]
In Cooperation with Paris Peace Forum

Trisha Shetty, Founder, SheSays; President of the Steering Committee, Paris Peace Forum

Moderator: Ronja Scheler, Programme Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

13:00 – 14:00
Breakout Session 4: Transatlantic China Policy: Perspectives from Berlin and Washington [exclusively for registered participants]
In Cooperation with Pew Research Center

Petra Sigmund, Director General for Asia and the Pacific, Federal Foreign Office
Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; former Senior Director for South and Central Asia, U.S. National Security Council

Including a presentation of survey results by Jacob Poushter, Associate Director of Global Attitudes Research, Pew Research Center, and Julia Ganter, Editor, The Berlin Pulse, Körber-Stiftung.

Moderator: Andrew Cohen, Communications Director, Pew Research Center

14:00 – 15:00
The Geopolitics of the Digital Transformation

Eva-Maria Liimets, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Estonia
YAN Xuetong, President, Carnegie-Tsinghua Management Board; Dean, Institute of Modern International Relations, Tsinghua University
Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy, U.S. National Security Council

Moderator: Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany

Followed by Deep Dive on Gaming and International Relations with Manouchehr Shamsrizi, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and Kaspar Meyer, Federal Foreign Office [exclusively for registered participants]

15:30 – 16:45
The EU’s Neighbourhood: From Transformation to Stabilization?

Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, President, Republic of Kosovo
Stefano Sannino, Secretary General, European External Action Service
Fiona Hill, Robert Bosch Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institution; former Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs, U.S. National Security Council
Andreas Nick, Vice-President, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)

With a video message by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Leader of the Belarus Opposition

Moderator: Liana Fix, Programme Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

Followed by Deep Dive on Populism and Current Threats to Democracy with Fiona Hill [exclusively for registered participants]

16:45 – 17:30
Lessons Learned for the Green Transformation

Nick Bridge, Special Representative for Climate Change, United Kingdom
María Fernanda Espinosa, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy; President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2018-2019)
Parag Khanna, Founder & Managing Partner, FutureMap

Moderator: Nora Müller, Executive Director International Affairs, Körber-Stiftung

18:00 – 18:30
Spotlight Interview
In Cooperation with DER SPIEGEL

Omid Nouripour, MdB, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Parliamentary Group of Alliance90/The Greens, German Bundestag

Moderator: Britta Sandberg, Paris Bureau Chief, DER SPIEGEL

to “Overview Berlin Foreign Policy Forum”