Press Releases

November 20, 2007

Chancellor Merkel Proposes Transatlantic Research Area

Speech at The American Academy in Berlin Marks 60th Anniversary of Marshall Plan

Europe and America share more than just good economic relations – they share values and responsibility. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out in favor of even closer cooperation in the future. Research on both sides of the Atlantic, for instance, could be better networked together.

Speaking at the American Academy in Berlin on Monday, the Chancellor underlined the importance of defending transatlantic values such as liberty and responsibility in a globalized world.

She stressed that liberty depends in no small way on economic performance. For the societies on both sides of the Atlantic, she said, it is thus crucial, that "we continue to be able to bring products on to the market first worldwide." To underpin this ability, technological innovations are absolutely indispensable, she said.

To help, the Chancellor called for a joint effort by Europeans and Americans, which "transcends the purely economic." The EU and the USA, she suggested, should think about merging the European Research Area and American research.

Shaping globalization under the aegis of the UN

The most promising approaches to shaping globalization together and working to preserve our natural resource base involve multilateral structures, the Chancellor underlined once again. She repeated her call for a reform of the United Nations Security Council. This will, however, only come about "if both the USA and Europe are interested in reform," she declared.

Close cooperation between players in Europe and America, she went on, is also necessary for a new worldwide climate protection agreement under the aegis of the United Nations. "I consider it absolutely vital that the leading industrial nations play an important part in this," the Chancellor reaffirmed.

Shared responsibility

In terms of security policy too, the industrialized nations cannot ignore global networking: Europeans and Americans now have the opportunity to resolve conflicts together, such as those in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, in the Middle East and with Iran. But not only do they have the opportunity, they have the responsibility to do so. "Nobody will manage to resolve these issues alone," Merkel stated.

International missions should not, however, be limited to military interventions, she continued, but should be carefully planned to go further. "Before any such intervention, we must have clear plans as to what is to happen afterwards," stressed Merkel. "Without security there can be no reconstruction, and without reconstruction there can be no security." She spoke in favor of according reconstruction specialists such as teachers, judges and police officers the same status as military forces.

NATO must remain the "anchor of transatlantic security policy," she said. The establishment of Europe's own security structures should not be seen as "competition for NATO," she stated unequivocally.

The Marshall Plan for Europe was one of the most successful economic reconstruction programs ever launched by the United States. The $12.4 billion program helped Western Europe, which had been devastated by the Second World War. It was named after the then US Secretary of State George C. Marshall. Adopted in April 1948, the program ran for four years. Over the following two decades all of Western Europe experienced an unprecedented economic boom. "The Marshall Plan was largely responsible for the fact that Germany was given the opportunity, soon after the end of the war, to become a respected partner in the world again," Chancellor Angela Merkel said. The plan is a "profession of faith in a common Europe based on freedom.”

The American Academy works to give new inspiration to transatlantic thinking, as cofounder Richard C. Holbrooke put it in 1994. It offers scholarships to American artists, scientists and experts in the fields of economics and politics. The academy was the first transatlantic institute founded in Germany after the Cold War. The founders of the autonomous academy, which is founded by private donations, include former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker. For Merkel the American Academy has become a “central forum for frank and open discussion about the sense and purpose of transatlantic bonds.”

Look for the official translation of Chancellor Merkel’s speech soon on the website of the Federal Government: http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/EN/Homepage/home.html

The American Academy in Berlin: http://www.americanacademy.de

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