Since the inception of the Marshall Plan post World War II, the United States has been one of the most active and generous aid donors to the developing world. Unfortunately, over the last few decades, our aid and trade policies have become increasingly fragmented and, at times, even contradictory. In order to increase aid effectiveness and best serve the interests of the U.S. and aid recipients, we must work towards harmonizing aid and trade policies towards developing and least developed countries.

The aid debate often centers around two primary approaches: increasing versus decreasing foreign assistance. However, as the recently released HELP … Continue Reading…

Three weeks after Brussels Forum, GMF begins another major conference today with the opening of the Bucharest Conference alongside the Bucharest NATO Summit. Romanian President Traian Basescu and U.S. Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher will deliver speeches beginning at 6:30 Bucharest time, 5:30 in Brussels, and 11:30 a.m. in Washington. You can watch the live stream at www.bucharestconference.org of those speeches and the rest of the public program from April 1-3. On April 2, the highlight will be a panel discussion on Afghanistan with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and NATO Secretary General … Continue Reading…

At Brussels Forum a few weeks ago, BBC World taped an episode of The World Debate, with Nik Gowing as the host. They have posted the video on their webpage. Enjoy!

This weekend, GMF is hosting with its partners the third annual Brussels Forum, a gathering of political, academic, and business leaders to debate the countless items on the transatlantic agenda. Public sessions will be streamed live in video and audio from Brussels, and transcripts and video for download will be available shortly after each session. Take a look at the agenda and you can see the range of issues and the high-level speakers like Robert Zoellick, Javier Solana, Michael Chertoff, several heads of government and ministers, a large Congressional delegation, and countless other thought leaders.

BERLIN (via Washington) — My colleague Constanze Stelzemueller wrote this piece in the Financial Times about Germany’s recent state elections in Hesse and Lower Saxony before they happened. It was a critical test for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, and the results were, well, critical. (Apologies to the Economist for riffing on their headline.)

BELGRADE, Serbia — Some colleagues and I just returned from a brief but enlightening trip to Moldova and Transnistria, January 21-23. We wanted to learn more about the complex political, social, and economic situations and how our programs (BST and BTD) can assist those working to improve them.

A bit of background: After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent collapse of the Moldovan economy, the population began to leave in search of a better life. Officially, roughly one-third of all working-age Moldovans have migrated abroad. In 2007, these foreign workers sent home over … Continue Reading…

BRUSSELS — The publication of this article in the People’s Daily caused an interesting ripple of reactions, not least in Africa itself. Although China professes ideological neutrality in its foreign policy, its officials and a number of Chinese intellectuals are still eager to leap on any evidence that ‘Western-style democracy’ is ‘unsuitable’ in any number of places, whether Taiwan – where many claim democracy has brought ‘chaos’ – the Middle East, Russia, and now Africa. While the article does not represent the official position of the Chinese government, its appearance in the Chinese Communist Party’s leading publication … Continue Reading…

WASHINGTON — Once again, this is far from my expertise, but it’s very interesting to see a New York Times blog post about a few stores in New York City starting to accept the euro for purchases. It is certainly common throughout much of the world to see dollar-denominated prices and dollars accepted as readily as local currencies, but within the United States, one is hard-pressed to find anything other than dollars on price tags or in cash registers. With the euro now trading up near $1.50, and to a … Continue Reading…

PARIS — In a press conference today, French President Sarkozy explained further his new “policy of civilization.”

Background: the President is losing ground in polls, the primary concern of the French being the improvement of their standard of living, which is not in sight. Facing pessimistic forecasts of next year’s growth rate (less than 2%), energy prices increase, stable and still high unemployment rate, unprecedented trade deficit and inflation coming back into the picture, the French have a low moral.

One could ask why do the French expect so much from the President and the government, and if it is fair and … Continue Reading…

WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago, Richard Haass expressed doubts about the future efficacy of transatlantic cooperation in addressing international security challenges. He’s joining a popular bandwagon. In the lead up to the American presidential election, analysts from across the political landscape are grinding a rusty axe that we’ve heard year after year since the end of the Cold War: The principal strategic imperative that united the transatlantic community has disappeared, making sustained, predictable collaboration impossible. This is as wrong now as it was in the mid-90s.

Let’s begin with the premise. Have American and European … Continue Reading…