EM Germany Newsletter October 2024 | Together for Europe: Dr. Anna-Maija Mertens is the new EM Germany President.
Dear readers,
as the new President of the EM Germany, recently elected by our General Assembly, I am very pleased about the trust placed in me and especially about our lobbying work for a strong, democratic Europe, which currently seems to be more important than ever.
One year before the German federal election, Germany faces the challenge of not losing itself in national issues and neglecting its European responsibility. Our Europe of freedom and the rule of law must not be put at risk for the sake of national solo efforts and impossible sham solutions such as refoulement at a German border of almost 4,000 km. As early as 1949, the Basic Law stipulated that our country, as an equal member of a united Europe, must “serve the peace of the world”. We must not lose sight of this obligation.
We also want to campaign for a strong, democratic and united Europe in next year's parliamentary elections and are in permanent contact with our member parties on this issue. The dysfunctional European coordination of the federal government must also be tackled in this spirit. Despite very good intentions in the current coalition agreement, we are unfortunately seeing a deterioration in European coordination. Here, our country is increasingly failing to live up to its European responsibility to position itself reliably and at an early stage in the legislative process and is thus also failing to represent its own interests in the best possible way. The European Movement Germany deals with these and many other governance issues in European policy, but I also deal with them personally - in my dissertation, in my voluntary functions and in my teaching activities, including at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt. For many years, I have been a courageous, sometimes controversial, but always dialog-oriented advocate of a united Europe. After all, how is Europe supposed to function if we can't achieve coordination and democratic compromises at federal level?
Especially in these challenging times, Europe needs a strong voice, whether in times of multiple crisis from the Russian war of aggression, climate change, threatened transatlantic partnership, economic recession or the ongoing migration debate: I am convinced that the solution can only be found in Europe. But to be successful, we need to talk openly about far-reaching reforms of our European house, especially on EU enlargement and the necessary changes in budgeting and decision-making. If we do not hold these debates, the opponents of Europe will.
Together we can shape the future of this Europe. Let us continue along this path with courage and determination!
Sincerely,
Anna-Maija Mertens
President of the European Movement Germany e.V.
EM Germany News
EM Germany Opinion - EU Enlargement: Urgent Need for Progress and Cooperation | Yesterday, the EU Commission presented its eagerly awaited enlargement package for the candidate countries from the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova. Among other things, the European Movement Germany is calling for serious accession prospects for the candidate countries and the strengthening of pre-accession assistance and democratic forces. Moreover, the EU itself must introduce internal reforms in order to be capable of enlargement in the future. | More
EM Germany De-Briefing AGRIFISH | The EM Germany De-Briefing on 24 October 2024 focused on the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 22 and 23 October 2024. Dr. Andreas Flach, a consultant at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), reported on the results of this meeting. The main topics were the fishing opportunities in the Baltic Sea for 2025 and the common agricultural policy in the EU after 2027. | More
EM Germany De-Briefing European Council | With the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, migration to Europe and strengthening the EU's competitiveness, the agenda of the EM Germany De-Briefing was clearly set. Christoph Wolfrum, Head of the European Department at the Federal Foreign Office, and Dr Kirsten Scholl, Head of the Department for European Affairs at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, provided initial assessments. For an initial commentary, we welcomed Barbara Gessler, representative of the European Commission in Germany, as well as the newly elected EM Germany President Dr Anna-Maija Mertens, who emphasised the importance and impact of border controls at the German borders. | More
EM Germany Opinion - Membership of the Republic of Moldova in the EU | Wafer-thin majority of 50.41% - despite fake news, propaganda and threats from the Russian government, Moldovans have voted in favour of joining the EU in the constitutional referendum. It is now up to the European Union to capitalise on this momentum and chart a concrete path towards EU membership that is reliable for both sides. How do EM Germany President Dr Anna-Maija Mertens and Secretary General Bernd Hüttemann assess the positive outcome of the referendum? | Here are the answers
The European Space for Citizenship Education | The creation of a future ‘European Space for Democracy Education’ was the aim of the two-day conference ‘The European Space for Citizenship Education: Sustaining democracy through quality citizenship education’. Supported by the Federal Foreign Office, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, the DARE network and the EM Germany, the conference focussed on strengthening democratic values and principles through educational initiatives. General Secretary Bernd Hüttemann and European Policy Education Officer Enno Coordes took part on behalf of the EM Germany. Both emphasised the historical link between education and democracy, which is deeply rooted in the work of the European Movement. | More
General Assembly 2024: It was a celebration | With a new President, a new Board and the 75th anniversary of the EM Germany and the Council of Europe, there was plenty to celebrate at this year's EM Germany General Assembly.
Dr Anna-Maija Mertens was elected as the new President of the EM Germany with an outstanding result of 92.3%, replacing Dr Linn Selle, who left office after six years. Dr Selle not only opened the General Assembly, but also gave her last political report and was given a fitting and ceremonial farewell before handing over the baton to Dr Anna-Maija Mertens. Dr Anna-Maija Mertens is starting her term of office with a zest for action and emphasised the diversity of Europe and the EM Germany as a key value in the fight against social division.
This year's General Assembly also focussed on the double anniversary of 75 years of the Council of Europe and the EM Germany. The celebrations included speeches by Frank Schwabe, Member of the German Bundestag and head of the German delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Anja Wallau, Commissioner for Fundamental Issues of European Policy at the Federal Foreign Office, and Yasmin Fahimi, Chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation. We would like to thank our member organisation, the German Trade Union Confederation, for its hospitality. | More
General Assembly 2024: Our new Executive Board | Living democracy on a small scale - the regular democratic elections of the EM Germany Executive Board were also on the agenda of this year's General Assembly. Vice President Barbara Lochbihler and Vice Presidents Michael Gahler and Christian Petry were re-elected. Peter Hahn was confirmed as Treasurer for a further term of office. We also welcome the other Board members who represent the various organisational areas of the EBD member organisations: Dr Christian Johann, European Academy Berlin, and Dr Thu Nguyen, Jacques Delors Centre, represent the organisational area ‘Education and Research with a Focus on Europe’. Prof. Dr Funda Tekin, Institute for European Policy, and Christian Moos, Europa-Union Deutschland, are on the board for the ‘Non-profit associations’ organisational area. Steffi Grimm, Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, Matthäus Fandrejewski, dbb jugend, Freya Lemcke, Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer, and Miriam Philipp, Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie, represent the ‘Trade Unions’ and ‘Business Associations’ areas. Wendelin Haag, German Federal Youth Council, represents the ‘Youth’ area and Lina Furch, German Section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, represents the ‘Local Authorities’ area. The parties are represented on the new Board by Yannick Bury (CDU), Dr Anton Hofreiter (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Nathalie Dworaczek (Volt), Thomas Hacker (FDP), Sabrina Repp (SPD), Dr Joachim Streit (Freie Wähler), Tobias Winkler (CSU). From now on, Frank Burgdörfer, Citizens of Europe e.V., Thiemo Fojkar, Internationaler Bund, Clara Föller, former Federal Chairwoman of Junge Europäische Föderalist:innen e.V., Felix Manuel Müller, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Sabine Overkämping, Deutscher Juristinnenbund e.V., and Prof. Gudrun Schmidt-Kärner, Deutscher Akademikerinnen Bund e.V., will be responsible for the ‘Other organisations’ area.
Together with Dr Anna-Maija Mertens at the helm of the association, the new Board, with its diversity of skills and experience, forms a strong basis for EBD's work. | More
Panel EU-Turkey relations | Taboos are dangerous in democracy and yet the biggest taboo in Turkey is the frozen accession negotiations with the EU. To address and discuss this, EBD Board Member Prof Dr Funda Tekin from the Institute for European Politics and EM Germany Secretary General Bernd Hüttemann were guests on the panel ‘EU-Turkey Relations’ of rbb24 Inforadio and the European Academy Berlin. | More
College of Europe digital consultation hour | The application phase at the College of Europe in Bruges, Natolin and Tirana has been running since mid-October. Anyone interested in a postgraduate Master's in European Studies is welcome to join our digital consultation hour with questions about the current application phase, teaching and life on campus! Current students and our project team will be available on 5 November 2024 from 16:30 to 18:00 to answer any questions you may have about applying, studying, everyday life on campus and academic expectations. Applications for a study place and scholarship at the College of Europe can be submitted from 16 October 2024 until 15 January 2025. | More
Upcoming Events
December 4, 2024 | The next EM Germany EPSCO De-Briefing will take place on December 4, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Florian Schierle, European Affairs Officer at the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and Mark Kamperhoff, Head of the EU Department at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, will present the results of the Council meeting.
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