Truth and enlightenment beyond the Der Spiegel case: Doing more to protect the work of journalists worldwide
By
Detlef Prinz
March 2019
The year 2018 has marked a turning point in several respects. We Germans in particular must be quick to bid farewell to cherished certainties and the thorough dependability of our multilateral system of order. This much we know: achieving new …
Businesses will learn to cope with Brexit, and EU member states will do everything they can to avoid complete chaos
By
Mark Schieritz
March 2019
If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s the wisdom of taking predictions with a grain of salt. When Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, it was said the US economy would collapse. That has …
It’s not rocket science: After scrapping INF, how might we prevent Arms Race 2.0?
By
Richard Burt and Jon Wolfsthal
March 2019
As we move into 2019, a new round of US-Russian nuclear competition – Arms Race 2.0 – is clearly emerging. The risk of nuclear conflict through deliberate action or some tragic combination of mistakes and escalation is growing. While both …
If you want to build a building, you need construction machinery and industrial cranes. When the work of those excavators and wheel loaders is done and the building is standing erect, the machines are taken back to the depot. In …
US Ambassador Richard Grenell’s threats against German companies make waves, but produce little more than petty victories
By
Peter H. Koepf
March 2019
In the dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier is openly seeking a compromise with the United States. The German government will ensure that there is a liquefied natural gas …
Telling it like it is – sort of: The fabrications of a promising young reporter have left the German weekly Der Spiegel in dire straits, with its much-lauded fact-checking department being called to account
By
Thomas Schuler
March 2019
Journalist Juan Moreno never actually met Claas Relotius. They spoke on the phone only once, and Moreno believes this is one of the reasons he was able to eventually expose Relotius’ many journalistic fabrications. Everyone else at the Der Spiegel …
Caught between the past and the future, the parties of Germany’s grand coalition are arguing amongst themselves
By
Lutz Lichtenberger
March 2019
For the third time in four terms, Germany is governed by a grand coalition. Grand – that means the center-right CDU/CSU and the center-left Social Democrats create a government together. Under the leadership of Chancellor Angela Merkel, they must cooperate …
Many Americans abroad face an increased tax burden as a result of President Trump’s tax reform. Dual citizens are renouncing their US nationality at record rates
By
Katja Ridderbusch
March 2019
Ole Wald* has mixed feelings looking back at his years as a United States citizen. “It hurts my heart that I’m no longer an American,” says the 54-year-old Berlin-based co-founder of an industrial real estate development firm. “Being a US …
The United States is no longer abiding by the rules of international trade. Brussels is eager to use negotiations to defuse the conflict
By
Eric Bonse
March 2019
For Cecilia Malmström, it was an unpleasant yet necessary task.
On Jan. 19, as the Swedish-born European Commissioner for Trade was presenting her draft mandate for new negotiations with the United States in Brussels, she visibly sought to not raise …
Germany wants to quit nuclear energy and coal, and fast
By
Heike Holdinghausen
March 2019
It’s an ambitious goal: By 2022, Germany will close its last nuclear power plant and, only 16 years later, stop burning coal altogether. Too slow or too ambitious? It’s a hot debate in Germany, at the moment. Nevertheless, the federal …
Burning fossil fuels jeopardizes the very livelihoods of vulnerable groups and could result in a massive rise in the world’s already significant number of refugees
By
Shi Dinghuan, Stephan Kohler and Sergei Shmatko
March 2019
The focus has shifted in debates over the security of energy supplies. While the secure supply of energy sources (coal, petroleum and natural gas) was once the central theme and will remain necessary for some time, of even greater importance …
The VW scandal just might lead to the introduction of a groundbreaking new form of lawsuit in Germany
By
Alexander Hagelüken
March 2019
German CEOs tend to get nervous when confronted with legal problems in the United States. To be sure, class action lawsuits are often associated with major financial costs. This is exactly what Volkswagen found out when the diesel scandal broke. …
European policymakers are looking to punish data misuse and foster more internet competition
By
Daniel Leisegang
March 2019
It was a loud and crashing warning shot: On Feb. 7, 2019, Facebook’s business model came under harsh criticism from the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, which argued that the online giant was abusing its market position by collecting and …
Airbus has had mixed success in North America, but its hopes are still flying high
By
Jens Flottau
March 2019
It was 2006, and Columbus, Mississippi, was where it was all supposed to get started. EADS co-CEO Tom Enders himself came to open a new helicopter assembly plant. His company had just won a contract to build several hundred aircraft …
Congratulations to the Alabama Germany Partnership on its 25th anniversary! 👏👏👏 Many thanks to Executive Director Tine Hoffmeister and her team for strengthening the economic & cultural ties between #Alabama and #Germany over the past two and a half decades. #wunderbartogether
@TOPTeachGermany Glad to have worked with you, the #TOP leader, for more than 10 years. All the best for your bright future, Wood! #FoGI_DC #WunderbarTogether