“We are freezing, but we are very excited to be here” was the reaction of the first group of American, African and European TFMI participants descending from the airport shuttle bus and pulling their suitcases across the gravel to Castle Hotel … Continue Reading…
WASHINGTON — 
Listening to the other side of the Atlantic, it can sound like Europeans feel that their fascination with the U.S. election campaign is unrequited. Wolfgang Ischinger recently worried that the European Union “hardly ever appears in the speeches and debates … 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 … Continue Reading…
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 … Continue Reading…
According to Anne Applebaum, the changes in leadership in Central and Eastern Europe, and in France and Germany, have led to a flipping of feelings toward America. Donald Rumsfeld’s “Old Europe” has seen conservatives Angela Merkel elected in Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy elected in France, … Continue Reading…
Sixty years ago today, on June 5, 1947, then Secretary of State George Marshall delivered a short speech at Harvard University’s commencement that would change history. The resulting Marshall Plan provided substantial U.S. financial assistance to a war-torn European continent. By the time the Marshall Plan ended in 1952, the US had invested $13.3 billion.
The Marshall Plan is not only an example of successful U.S. diplomacy or U.S. magnanimity, but also of self-interest. The United States wanted to prevent further stagnation of world trade, promote the economic recovery of Europe, and stop any further Communist gains on the continent.
For GMF, June 5 is important for another reason beyond Marshall’s famous speech. Today marks the 35th anniversary of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. GMF was conceived of and established as a permanent memorial to the Marshall Plan. On June 5, 1972, Willy Brandt, then Chancellor of West Germany, in a speech at Harvard University, announced a significant financial gift to establish GMF. Continue Reading…
Where “Balkanization” has come to mean the breaking up of a country into smaller, hostile territories, two weeks ago saw the “anti-Balkanization” of the historically hostile Balkan region. And all because of a TV show.
As this piece from the New York Times/International Herald Tribune discusses, … Continue Reading…
According to a study conducted by the British firm FDS, and partially published by the AFP, French workers are the ones who complain and moan the most at work, followed by British and Swedish employees ex aequo. Americans come right after, even if, according to the study, they … Continue Reading…
