The spread of COVID-19 and the ensuing global lock-down as governments try to slow the spread of the corona virus has tested individuals and institutions around the world. Since March of 2020, the ACG has stepped up its digital programming by hosting webinars and video discussions which bring together policy makers and thought leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss some of the key issues shaping transatlantic relations in an unprecedented time. In addition to organizing events on its own, the ACG has also partnered with other organizations such as 1014 and Atlantik-Brücke to launch new series designed to reach beyond the ACG community.
With a new U.S. administration and a more assertive and capable European Union, there is now a once-in-a-generation opportunity to design a new transatlantic agenda for global cooperation based on our common values, interests, and global influence. Against the backdrop of a new geopolitical and economic reality, a strong transatlantic relationship to sustain peace and security is undeniably relevant. A Feminist Foreign Policy questions the traditional understanding of state security and calls for a people-centered approach to security and peace. On March 31, the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, 1014, with the support of the ACG hosted a discussion with Pam Campos Palma, political strategist, former military intelligence analyst, and Director of Peace and Security at the Working Families Party; and Verity Coyle, Senior Advisor and Nonresident Fellow with Stimson’s Conventional Defense program; and moderated by Kristina Lunz, Executive Director of the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy.
Each week, the ACG hosts a Kaffeepause, or coffee break, on Clubhouse. Journalists are invited to discuss the latest developments within the political landscape in Berlin. On March 29, the ACG hosts a hybrid event on both Clubhouse and Zoom, with Andreas Kluth, Opinion Columnist for Bloomberg.
Late last month the Sustainable Finance Committee, which advises the German federal government on the development and implementation of its Sustainable Finance Strategy, released a report outlining more than 30 policy recommendations to be taken to establish a sustainable financial system. Digitalization, globalization, climate concerns, and more recently the coronavirus pandemic are driving change around the world. In order to address these trends, companies must innovate and adapt to survive. The finance sector can play a role in facilitating this transformative process by doing more to address sustainability and the social impact of investing. On March 26, the ACG hosted a discussion about Germany’s model for sustainable finance with one of the members of the Sustainable Finance Committee, Dr. Gerald Podobnik, the CFO of the Corporate Bank division of Deutsche Bank.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect lives around the world, it is becoming clear that the pandemic and its economic fallout are having a regressive effect on gender equality. Sociologist Jutta Allmendinger recently claimed the pandemic will set Germany back 30 years in terms of the equality achieved between men and women. Mothers, in particular, are disadvantaged by existing containment strategies. On March 23, the Thomas Mann House, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, and the American Council on Germany hosted a discussion with Jutta Allmendinger, President of WZB Berlin Social Science Center, and Richard V. Reeves, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; and moderated by Birte Meier, Journalist, ZDF, whose residency at the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles to work on “Equal Pay in California and what Germany can learn from it” was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The pandemic has forced companies around the globe to adapt their business models. Due to public health concerns and lockdowns, many companies had to lay off or furlough workers. In Germany, Kurzarbeit policies softened the economic blow.
On March 16 the American Council on Germany and 1014 hosted a discussion about how trade unions are coping with the impact of Covid-19 with Reiner Hoffmann, the Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation (Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or DGB), and John E. Shinn, International Secretary and Treasurer of the United Steelworkers.