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On Defense, France Bites the Bullet, But Avoids Strategic Insolvency May 7, 2013
Iceland’s Recovery Saga Presents Opportunities for Brussels, Washington—and Beijing May 6, 2013
Which Way Forward for Europe’s Hybrid Regimes? May 2, 2013
The Arab Revolts and the Liberal Order May 2, 2013
Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Aldonas shares vision for transatlantic economic leadership September 26, 2005 / Brussels
In his first visit to Brussels affiliated with GMF’s new economic policy program, Grant Aldonas, former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, shared his vision for achieving transatlantic leadership on the global economic stage. On September 26, Aldonas told a Brussels audience that there were two things Europe and America needed to do in order to achieve real economic viability. First, the United States and Europe need solvency in their own economies. Second, the greatest economic alliance in history needs more cooperation. The biggest challenge Europe and America face is one of demographics, according to Aldonas. With no changes, the standard of living will drop precipitously as the younger generation won’t be able to support an aging society, a problem that should have been flagged much earlier. “The economic profession has failed fundamentally,” Aldonas said. Aldonas did point out that the German economy, however much maligned, has actually seen some growth in recent years. Bilaterally, the transatlantic partners need to liberalize trade in order to grow their economies, Aldonas said. And when they do, it will help them address the rest of the world. The United States and Europe need to work to create the political space for trade liberalization to succeed in ways that it would help reduce global poverty. “If we want to encourage development, we should focus on how business does business,” Aldonas said. As for the WTO’s Hong Kong ministerial, Aldonas said a small deal would be bad for the future of trade. A big deal or failure are the two best options. Addressing questions of the U.S. economy, Aldonas said that China looms, but is not the bogeyman it is being made out to be. The U.S. manufacturing sector “is bigger than the entire Chinese economy, and growing at three percent a year. We aren’t standing still.” China also has potential problems because of its financial sector and its authoritarian government. Aldonas spoke as part of the Transatlantic Center’s Distinguished Speakers’ Series.
