Leadership Team for Program “Europe’s Future” complete

We asked Daniela Schwarzer, Christian Mölling and Malte Zabel what is currently on their minds regarding Europe and our work in the program:

Daniela Schwarzer: The new European Commission is expected to take office in the third quarter and will set priorities very quickly. One very important issue is Europe's security order, its own defence capability and support for Ukraine vis-à-vis Russia. In view of the Russian threat, which goes far beyond Ukraine, we in Europe are still far from being as well positioned as we should be in the new security situation. Conflict patterns have changed and hybrid attacks from Russia, China, and Iran, which are aimed at our democracy and social cohesion, pose a far-reaching risk. The uncertainty surrounding a possible partial withdrawal of the USA as a security guarantor in the event of Donald Trump's election victory in November highlights this once again. The new European Commission will have to address these issues together with the member states and must not neglect social and economic resilience in addition to defense capability in the military sense. It is also clear that the European Union must work very hard on its own competitiveness, especially in the areas of technology and digitalization.

Malte Zabel: The American presidential election on 5 November is at the center of everything. A Trump victory would have serious consequences for the EU. But even if Kamala Harris wins, Europe must be prepared to do much more for its own security - including the defense of Ukraine. It is therefore a good thing that the EU has placed the issue of security high on its strategic agenda for the next five years. In the coming weeks, however, Europe must first reorganize its personnel. The newly composed European Parliament is taking up its work, a new EU Commission is coming into office, a new President of the European Council and a new Foreign Affairs Commissioner are taking up their posts. The faster they find their roles, the better for Europe's ability to act. 

Christian Mölling: In the short term, US support under the existing aid packages for Ukraine threatens to end at the end of the year. Then it will be up to the Europeans. We can influence this part of our security. Not the outcome of the US elections. But this is only a small part of our problem landscape: Europe is currently in what is probably the most critical phase of the past seventy years. From war to the climate crisis, there are several fundamental challenges.

Daniela Schwarzer: I am very pleased that we can now work together to further develop the Europe program with a view to the increased challenges facing the EU, its member states and the European neighborhood. Christian Mölling and Lucas Guttenberg are thought leaders in their respective fields and bring with them important experience that will be very enriching for us as a team. Together, we want to build on the team's previous successes and expand our focus. This includes, for example, an increased focus on cooperation between the EU and the UK, as well as security threats and the future shape of the European economic model.

Christian Mölling: I am joining the Bertelsmann Stiftung to sharpen up my area of responsibility for Europe, and the topic of security is to play a greater role. But content is only one part of the task: strategic positioning also involves feeding the good work results of all colleagues into decision-making processes to make a relevant contribution to making the EU more effective. To do this, we must keep finding the right formats and the right time slots for our activities. Relevance today also comes from the speed with which quality is played out.

Malte Zabel: With Christian we add an absolute security expert, an accomplished strategist, an experienced think tanker and a nice guy. I'm looking forward to working with him on a personal level, but above all it will give us a boost in terms of content. We have recently been looking at security issues mainly from a geo-economic perspective. This remains important but is only one dimension of a holistic concept of security. I am also very much looking forward to working with Lucas Guttenberg. With him, we will address the key economic issues of this legislative period: how can the EU become more competitive, greener, more digital and more inclusive?

Daniela Schwarzer: We are observing that more and more people in our country are voting for parties that advocate authoritarian and xenophobic positions, sympathize or even cooperate with Russia and want to weaken the EU. Many justify this decision with a feeling of being left behind by the green and digital transformation. First, it is important to understand the motives for voting for radical forces. As a society, we need to further develop our liberal democracy to strengthen the feeling of participation and justice, especially in times of transformation, and to mobilize the forces that lie within our societies in the best possible way.

Malte Zabel: We have seen further growth for right-wing populist parties in the European elections. They won the elections in six member states. In some EU countries, political and social polarization is well advanced. This is weakening European cohesion, on which the EU will be more dependent than ever in the coming years. In addition, in some member states, above all Hungary, we are experiencing considerable restrictions on the rule of law, which is of fundamental importance to the EU. The EU must continue to develop its governance in order to counteract such developments more effectively in the future.

Christian Mölling: I can't decide - but I don't have to in the EU. I would actually prefer to commute from city to city. Even though I come from the countryside, I love city life.

Daniela Schwarzer: In my case, that would probably be France! I already spent some time in Paris during my studies, started my career there and lived there with my family for a total of seven years. I still travel a lot in Paris for work and see the commitment to a constructive dialogue between Germany and France in Europe as a very big task, which will never be completed due to recurring misunderstandings, different cultures, etc., but which is very important and a lot of fun.

Malte Zabel: That’s tough... I like many European countries, but my family and I feel particularly at home in our neighboring country Holland, whose cozy geography and architecture we like very much. I could also imagine Scotland, which is unfortunately no longer in the EU.