FES Romania is Knowledge Partner of the Aspen-GMF Bucharest Forum 2023

The Bucharest Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) has the special pleasure of inviting you to attend the proceedings of the 12th edition of the Aspen – GMF Bucharest Forum 2023, which will take place at the National Military Circle, Str. Constantin Mille 1-3, Bucharest, on November 9-10. As a knowledge partner in the Forum, FES Romania organizes a panel on: "Zeitenwende in Germany and its impact for a stronger Europe" on the second day of the Forum, November 10, in the time slot 14:45-15:45.

Thread 2 Zeitenwende in Germany and its impact for an stronger Europe
Prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the so-called “Zeitenwende” announced a dramatic shift in Germany’s foreign and security policy. Since then, much has changed already. Apart from devoting substantially more resources to security and defense and completely realigning its energy policy, the German Government abandoned long-standing policies concerning the delivery of weapons to conflict regions and even committed itself to new deployments of German troops to NATO’s eastern flank. However, important questions remain open. After years of pursuing a controversial policy towards Russia, is Germany’s “turning point” more than a much needed correction of previous mistakes? How can Germany put its strength behind common European defense projects and, beyond that, into a more comprehensive strategic approach? Furthermore, do these measures meet the expectations of Germany’s European partners and has trust been restored?

Speakers:

Simona Cojocaru, State Secretary, Ministry of National Defence of Romania
H.E. Dr. Peer Gebauer, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Romania
Christos Katsioulis, Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe, Vienna
Karlis Bukovskis, Director, Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Riga

Moderator: Liliana Popescu, General Director, Romanian Diplomatic Institute

The working sessions will be conducted in English. Simultaneous translation will be provided during the entire event for English – Romanian interpretation.

You can find more information about the Aspen -GMF Forum 2023 program and the speakers here: aspeninstitute.ro/event/aspen-gmf-bucharest-forum-2023/