http://www.german-foreign-policy.com en-en http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58543 (Own report) - Leading up to talks between the German chancellor and the US president, the German Foreign Ministry reiterated its continuous support for the insurgents in Syria. Germany - unlike the USA, Great Britain and France - will not be furnishing weapons to the insurgent militias. Still, at the next summit conference, Germany will seek a "concentrated exchange on what can responsibly be done to help the Syrian opposition in this difficult situation," explains a spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Until now, Berlin's efforts have been mainly oriented toward political support for the insurgents and the implementation of measures to strengthen ties between the isolated opposition in exile with the militias operating locally. The foreign ministry has been deploying the services of relief organizations and providing medical treatment for wounded militiamen in Bundeswehr hospitals, organized with the support of exiled regime opponents. As shown by the huge stashes of weapons discovered by government troops after retaking the small town of Al Qusayr, a large amount of the insurgents' weapons were smuggled into Syria by ship - through the German Navy's area of operations off the coast of Lebanon. 2013/06/17 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58542 (Own report) - On the weekend, the German Foreign Minister held talks in the Pakistani capital, to prepare for the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. Berlin is seeking to intensify the "strategic dialogue;" it had initiated last year with Islamabad, explained Guido Westerwelle. In return, the new Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to play a "constructive role" in Afghanistan. Various cooperation projects underpin the "strategic dialogue," which the German government wants to use to apply the necessary pressure on Islamabad - also in relationship to Afghanistan. Germany would like to promote not only economic cooperation but cooperation between both countries' military forces as well. Berlin has also promised new arms deliveries to Pakistan. German government advisors are now warning against Pakistan's plans to resolve its civil war with the Pakistani Taliban through negotiations. This could only complicate the situation for pro-Western forces in Afghanistan. Therefore, negotiations should be refused. 2013/06/10 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58541 (Own report) - Latvia has requested to be admitted into the Euro zone - to the great joy of German businesses. The Latvian government has confirmed its intention to introduce the Euro already early next year. Only one third of the Latvian population is in favor of this project. But German businesses - following the positive experience with Estonia's introduction of the Euro - fully approve of this step, hoping to profit from lower costs and new location related advantages, according to the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK Baltikum). The Lithuanian government also seeks to introduce the Euro - in early 2015. Even though the majority of the Lithuanian population opposes, the establishment in Vilnius pledges economic allegiance to the German chancellor. Asked about the growing criticism of German austerity dictates, the Lithuanian prime minster said: "I fully agree with Chancellor Merkel's policy." Recently, Latvia and Lithuania carried out austerity programs similar to those in the southern European countries - with the social consequences. Both rank among the top four countries on the list of EU members with the largest number of residents "at risk of poverty and social exclusion." 2013/06/07 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58540 (Own report) - The struggle between Berlin and Brussels, on the one side, and Moscow, on the other, for the predominating influence in the Ukraine is growing sharper. Since the end of 2012, the German RWE company has been systematically expanding its natural gas deliveries to this East European country. Its objective is to break Kiev's dependence on Russian natural gas, by reversing the flow in the pipelines already in place, to deliver large quantities of the gas from the West. However, these efforts - also being supported by the German EU Energy Commissioner, Günter Oettinger - are not advancing rapidly enough. According to reports, pro-western circles in the Ukraine are complaining that Slovakia - without whose pipelines, a breakthrough would hardly be possible - is opposing the project. Brussels, therefore, should exert pressure on that country, because time is running out. The Ukrainian government signed a memorandum last week, which is considered an important step toward its integration in the Russian-dominated EurAsian Economic Community, about to be established. In Berlin, Ukrainian participation in this community is perceived as incompatible with Kiev's integration into EU structures. This conflict, which in principle, has been going on for twenty years, is being fueled by this new accentuation. 2013/06/05 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58539 (Own report) - The German Bundeswehr has announced the formation of a permanent military unit of foreigners under German command. Beginning in January 2014, approx. 2,100 soldiers from the Netherlands will be integrated into the "Rapid Reaction Force Division" as a result of a declaration of intent signed in Berlin last week by the defense ministers of both countries. Three dozen projects for closer cooperation between the two armed forces are planned. A second, similar declaration of intent, stipulating closer naval cooperation was also signed between the defense ministers of Germany and Poland. This cooperation includes combat missions. Specialists in military policy have been calling for intensifying military cooperation to increase the Bundeswehr's military clout. Berlin would be well advised to seek cooperation particularly with the smaller countries, because they, it is said, unlike France or Great Britain, are more pliable allies due to their lesser power potentials. 2013/06/03 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58537 (Own report) - In the prelude to this weekend's new Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang's visit to Germany, a prominent German think tank is pleading for closer German-Chinese cooperation. If Germany seeks to continue to have influence in Beijing, it must "put more weight in the balance than it has in the past," warns a recent statement by the Bertelsmann Foundation. Otherwise Berlin risks suffering the same fate as the EU, which China is marginalizing to a growing degree - not least of all, because of the persisting crisis. The EU's institutions have - "as has often been the case in foreign policy - also overestimated their roles with China." The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) sees the development of European-Chinese relations similarly. According to SWP, Germany has become the focus of China's attention on Europe, while the EU "has been demoted to a 'political dwarf' in the course of the crisis." Foreign policy specialists outside Germany had critically noted last year that there is a disparity between Germany's China policy and that of other EU countries - wherein Berlin has been having growing success in Beijing. "Europe," in comparison, is being marginalized. 2013/05/24 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58536 (Own report) - In light of the recent Syrian government's military successes, the German government seeks to stabilize rebel controlled areas in northern Syria. While demands for a comprehensive arms buildup for rebel militias are becoming louder, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs is positioning aid organizations to intervene. Aid organizations, such as the German Agro Action, are - in principle - sworn to neutrality and non-partisanship, however, at the demand of the German government, they are taking up activities in regions under rebel control, aimed at "winning hearts and minds" in favor of the rebels. Because this is in clear violation of Syria's sovereignty, an influential German daily has characterized this mission as "humanitarian intervention without a UN mandate" - "not with tanks and infantry but with trucks and development aid workers." Germany is promoting insurgents also in areas under Islamist control. 2013/05/23 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58535 (Own report) - With the ongoing Syrian military successes, discussion in Berlin and other western capitals is focusing more on a possible breakup of Syria's national territory. Syria has already been dissected into three parts, according to foreign policy experts in Washington: Whereas the Assad government is seeking to consolidate its control over Syria's center and the coastal strip, Sunni and often Islamist-oriented insurgents are in control of large areas in the East and the North of the country. The Kurdish dominated areas to the northeast comprise the third region. The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) is proposing that Syria's division be approved. Referring to an "expert" on Turkish foreign policy, the SWP estimates that, in the long run, the Kurdish speaking regions of Syria and Iraq could be integrated into a "federalized" Turkey. The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement's political configuration of the Middle East is, therefore, facing dissolution. A new political configuration would allow the establishment of a "secular Sunni counterweight in opposition to a Shiite arc" (Iran and its allies) in the Middle East. The SWP recommends "making every effort" to support negotiations between Turkey and Kurdish organizations toward this objective. 2013/05/22 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58534 (Own report) - In the run-up to this weekend's annual "Sudeten German Convention," the Bavarian regional government has announced the introduction of a memorial day in commemoration of German resettlement. Beginning 2014, the second Sunday in September will annually be dedicated to the commemoration of the German victims of "flight, expulsion and deportation" as a result of the Second World War. The designation of this memorial day is one of the German political establishment's measures, to seek to embed the notion that the resettlement was "an injustice" in the mindset of future generations. Based on this - historically erroneous - opinion, Germany can raise advantageous political claims vis à vis Eastern and Southeastern European countries. Besides the creation of a memorial day, Bavaria is also supporting, with 20 million Euros, the establishment of a "Sudeten German Museum" in Munich. The German Bundestag has earmarked another 10 million Euros to the project. An exposition, which could serve as the centerpiece of the museum, put the legitimacy of the founding of Czechoslovakia into question, using controversial quotes from Nazi sources. The Bavarian prime minister will be honored, with a Sudeten German Homeland Association award at Sunday's events for his support of the "expellees." 2013/05/17 http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/58533 (Own report) - The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) is propagating in favor of the deployment of combat drones. The influential think tank, headquartered in Berlin, has published an opinion poll indicating that more than two-thirds of the German population are in favor of using Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles or UCAVs in warfare. The results of this poll can be found in the current edition of "Internationale Politik," the journal published by the DGAP. The journal extensively treats the subject - with an unambiguous tenor: UCAV development is characterized as an "enormous technological leap" that the German armed forces cannot evade. The authors consider the construction of combat drones, which, based on artificial intelligence can quasi "autonomously" carry out killer functions without human intervention, to be a "logical consequence." The PR campaign, launched by the DGAP, accords with the German government's intention to increase the reliance on UCAVs in future wars. 2013/05/15