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.
The United States and Europe have shared interests when it comes to developing an approach to China and this realization may now gain traction through a new initiative, the EU-US Dialogue on China agreed to by Secretary Pompeo and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell. On July 30, the American Council on Germany and the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society hosted a conversation on the United States, Europe, and China with Dr. Melanie Hart, Senior Fellow and Director of China Policy at the Center for American Progress; Dr. Mikko Huotari, Executive Director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS); and, Dr. Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society.
There is no doubt that the coronavirus crisis has had public health and economic implications on the federal, state, and local levels in Germany – and the United States. As communities on both sides of the Atlantic try to move back to normalcy, on July 29, the ACG and the Hanns Seidel Foundation are delighted to host a conversation with Michael Chertoff, Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee ReOpen DC, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of The Chertoff Group, and Dr. Florian Herrmann, Chair of the Bavarian Corona Crisis Task Force, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, and State Minister for Federal and European Affairs and Media, and moderated by Ann Marie Hauser (2007 ACG Young Leader), Vice President for Public Affairs at The Hudson Institute.
After days and nights of negotiations at the longest EU Summit in 20 years, European leaders announced that they had reached agreement regarding a $857 billion pandemic recovery plan. Leaving perhaps her final mark on the European Union, Chancellor Angela Merkel was instrumental in achieving European consensus regarding this new plan. On July 23, the ACG hosted a discussion with Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for the New York Times, who discussed what the recovery plan means for the EU and for Chancellor Merkel’s legacy.
Under the auspices of Deutschlandjahr USA 2018/19, the American Council on Germany and the Heidelberg University Association partnered to hold a series of in-person “Heidelberg Lectures.” Over the next few months, we plan to continue this collaboration in an online format as part of WunderbarTogether 2020.
On July 17, the first Heidelberg Lecture took place with Prof. Dr. Welf Werner – who serves as the Director of the Heidelberg Center for American Studies – on “Fighting Unemployment during the Corona Crisis: A Transatlantic Perspective.”
Journalism and the media play an indispensable role in democracies – especially in times of crisis. On July 14, the ACG and 1014 hosted a conversation with Sewell Chan (2014 ACG Young Leader), Editorial Page Editor for the Los Angeles Times, and Anna Sauerbrey (2018 ACG Kellen Fellow), Opinion Page Editor for Der Tagesspiegel and monthly contributor to the New York Times, on the challenges facing the media in Europe and the United States during the pandemic.