FES Washington Office - Recent Events
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 5:30pm - 7:30pm | Washington, DC
German Zeitgeist and European Réalité
A Transatlantic View on the State of Politics
FES After-hours with
Dietmar Nietan
Member of the German Bundestag
Topics
External Politics: The European Union is currently setting up its new diplomatic corps, the "European External Action Service." As European Policy Expert in the Social Democratic Party, MP Nietan shared his insights on the importance of this service and how it can provide the needed forum for a focused transatlantic relationship.
Internal Politics: Recent polls show a new and growing trust in Social Democratic policies. MP Nietan discussed the new SPD and Green Party state government coalition in his home district state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Speakers
MP Dietmar Nietan was re-elected to the German Bundestag in September 2009, representing his electoral district in Düren (North Rhine-Westphalia). He currently serves on the Committee on Affairs of the European Union and as a deputy member on the Foreign Affairs Committee. From 2005-2009, Dietmar Nietan served as Foreign Policy Liaison between the European Parliament and the Social Democratic Party in Berlin.
The conversation was led by Dr. Cathleen Fisher, President and Executive Director of the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and previously served as Deputy Director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Fisher also teaches at George Washington University, and has been an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 | Washington, DC
Obama's Multilateral Engagement: What Does it Mean for Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East?
Panel Discussion in cooperation with the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED).
In this event, panelists discussed the foreign policy agenda of the Obama administration with regards to multilateral engagement, with a special focus on democracy and human rights issues in the Middle East. The discussion also marked the release of the POMED-FES study: "For the Common Good - Revitalizing Multilateral Cooperation for Political Reform in the Middle East".
Panelists:
Suzanne Nossel (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of International Organization Affairs), Neil Hicks (Human Rights First), Radwan Ziadeh (New York University), and Heather Hurlburt (National Security Network)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | Toronto, Canada
Making the Case for Global Economic Governance
Panel discussions, organized in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's New York Office, and the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs.
This dynamic, day-long program took as its point of departure the G20 Leaders pledge to end the recent era of "irresponsibility" by adopting policies necessary to "lay the foundation for strong, sustained and balanced growth." The Honourable Paul Martin, Former Prime Minister of Canada, and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at the United Nations, delivered keynote speeches during the event which included a parliamentarians' round-table on global economic governance, a trade-unionists' panel on job creation and social standards, followed by a high-level discussion about creating a more socially responsible global economic system.
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 | Ottawa, Canada
Afghanistan Disengagement: Balancing Security, Foreign and Domestic Policy Implications. A Transatlantic Dialogue
Panel Discussion in cooperation with the Canadian International Council (CIC).
The multi-national panel discussion provided a public forum in Canada for issues surrounding the disengagement of troops from Afghanistan. The panel consisted of a number of notable figures, including present and past members of the German Parliament, Canadian Members of Parliament and policy experts from the US.
Keynote:
Hans-Ulrich Klose (Member of the German Parliament and Coordinator of German-American Relations)
Panelists:
Niels Annen (German Marshall Fund), Claude Bachand (Member of the Canadian Parliament), Paul Dewar (Member of the Canadian Parliament), Brian Katulis (Center for American Progress) and Hon. Keith Martin (Member of the Canadian Parliament)
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 | Washington, DC
The Path to Financial Regulation - Go Local or Go Global? A View from Europe
Luncheon Discussion in cooperation with the George Washington University's Center for International Business Education and Research, and GW's German Club.
Hosted by the George Washington University, Members of the German Parliament Hubertus Heil and Joachim Poss discussed the topic of financial regulation with undergraduate students from the schools of international affairs and business. Highlighting the importance of state and supranational legislation to encourage healthy economic practices, MPs Heil and Poss attempted to deconstruct the dichotomous nature of finance regulation. Discussion covered topics ranging from the roles of the EU and G20 to the effect of Germany’s exportation-oriented economy on its neighbors and trading partners. In reference to the upcoming G20 summit later this year, MPs Heil and Poss also discussed the potential future of a bank levy, as currently debated in the Bundestag, outside of Germany. While emphasizing both the diverging and shared concerns of European and American countries, MPs Heil and Poss noted that the success of domestic fiscal policies is dependent upon the global economy and vice versa.
Panelists:
Hubertus Heil (Member of the German Parliament), Joachim Poss (Member of the German Parliament), Pia Bungarten (FES DC) and Margaret Gonglewski (GWU)
- Kurzbericht (Ger)
- Program Flyer
Friday, March 19th, 2010 | Washington, DC
At the Crossroads: NATO Nuclear Policy
Luncheon Discussion
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Atlantic Council hosted a panel discussion on the future of NATO Nuclear Policy, based on the recent publication of two reports from FES/SIPRI and the Atlantic Council's Strategic Advisors Group on the issue.
Since its inception the NATO alliance has contained a robust nuclear aspect that served to deter potential adversaries while at the same time assuring the Allies of NATO. However, the role of nuclear weapons within the Alliance has been thrown into a new light as NATO has taken on new missions and is looking to its future through the development of a new Strategic Concept that will guide the Alliance in the decades to come. The panel discussion focused on issues related to these changes, including the need to revise current NATO nuclear policy, the role of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, as well as NATO nuclear policy as part of regional and global nuclear disarmament.
Panelists:
Ian Anthony (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), Hon. Walter B. Slocombe (Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Atlantic Council Board Secretary), Daryl Kimball (The Arms Control Association), Jan Lodal (Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Atlantic Council Board Member)
- Event Summary(Eng)
- Kurzbericht (Ger)
March 9th, 2010 | Washington, DC
Is a Green Recovery Possible? Climate Policy in the "Great Recession"
Luncheon Discussion
A delegation of Members of the German Bundestag, including Bärbel Kofler, Matthias Miersch and Dietmar Nietan, debated current climate policy issues with American experts during a luncheon discussion in Washington, DC. President Obama recently promised to create clean energy jobs. But Germany has the knowledge and know-how of over a decade of progress in this area. The German "Renewable Energy Act", implemented in 2000, has been credited with creating around 300,000 new "Green Jobs". Hence the German expertise is in demand, especially in the United States. However, there are obvious differences between the two countries that create challenges to passing climate change and renewable energy legislation in today's difficult economic climate. While Americans can be more concerned about keeping today's jobs at the expense of creating more jobs for the future, Europeans have invested in more sustainable jobs development.
Alexander Kallweit (FES Berlin), Thorben Albrecht (SPD), Emily Peckenham (FES Washington) and Pia Bungarten (Director FES Washington) joined the discussion as well.
March 8th, 2010 | Washington, DC
Green Jobs: Silver Bullet or One Step towards Sustainable Job Creation?
Luncheon Discussion
A delegation of Members of the German Bundestag, including Bärbel Kofler, Matthias Miersch and Dietmar Nietan, debated the current economic situation in the U.S. and Germany with American experts during a luncheon discussion in Washington, DC. The discussion focused on "Green Jobs" and the prospects for an economic recovery that includes job growth. Most of the experts agreed that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped in saving jobs and that the economic growth in the second quarter of 2009 was entirely due to the stimulus package. $60 billion was allocated to "Green Jobs" in the stimulus bill. However, the U.S. Administration has not yet embraced the potential of this sector beyond rhetoric. The difficult task of creating a sustainable economy still has to be tackled.
Alexander Kallweit (FES Berlin), Thorben Albrecht (SPD), Knut Panknin (FES Washington) and Pia Bungarten (Director FES Washington) joined the discussion as well.