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.
On April 14, the ACG hosted a discussion with Dr. Evelyn Farkas, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, and Sarah Pagung, Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations’ Robert Bosch Center for Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, who discussed Russia’s involvement of the spread of disinformation during the coronavirus crisis.
On April 9, 2020, the American Council on Germany and Atlantik-Brücke hosted a video discussion with the Chairmen of the two organizations – Ambassador John B. Emerson and Sigmar Gabriel, and moderated by journalist Juliane Schaeuble. In conversation, they discussed the national and international responses to COVID-19, the future of multilateralism and globalization, as well as domestic politics in this unprecedented and uncertain time.