Transatlantic Power House?

In the July-August 2010 issue of E!Sharp, Senior Project Manager Tyson Barker describes recent efforts by the European Parliament (EP) to position itself as the dominant EU institution. The parliament's recent brio comes in the wake of the EU's appointment of relative unknowns to its highest political offices. The legislature's rejection earlier this year of the interim SWIFT agreement with the US was, Barker writes, partially motivated by a desire to establish a more active role in policymaking. This was also a reason for the parliament's opening a liaison office in Washington, DC, making the EP the only legislature with its own presence in the US capital.

"ViewPoint" - Iran Series - Paper No. 2

The second paper in the series, "Technology Fund: Investing in the Green Movement for Democracy", describes the benefits that cyberspace has offered Iranian civil society and the opposition movement. The paper urges US and European governments to take specific steps to increase the ability of these Iranian groups to access and provide information on the Internet freely and easily.

"ViewPoint" - Iran Series - Paper No. 1

The Bertelsmann Foundation has launched a new series of briefing papers entitled "ViewPoint Iran". The series, which will offer reports on an occasional basis, provides American and European policymakers with fresh insight and analysis from a diverse set of international voices. The inaugural paper, "Urgent Diplomacy: Beyond the UN Vote", recommends that the US and European countries initiate an intense diplomatic campaign to sustain recent momentum on responding to Iran's nuclear program. The campaign should include a strong initiative to leverage European-Iranian economic ties and a longer-term effort to build a broader coalition of like-minded states around the globe.

China and the Test Ban Treaty

The Bertelsmann Foundation's Ting Xu, senior project manager of the Global Project, addressed Sino-American cooperation on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in a recent op-ed. The piece, published by Pacific Forum CSIS, calls on Beijing to commit to ratifying the CTBT if Washington does. This, Ms Xu and co-authors David Santoro and Emily Warren state, would benefit China, the US and the world as a whole. A Chinese translation of the commentary is being published by the Shanghai Oriental Morning Post.

NATO's Nuclear Policy in 2010

Bertelsmann Foundation Executive Director Annette Heuser has joined former US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Walter Slocombe in a white paper that calls for NATO to reach a consensus on updating the alliance's nuclear doctrine. The authors recommend that NATO endorse the goal of "Global Zero" while maintaining in the interim a strong deterrent and concluding near-term agreements to reduce nuclear arsenals. Ms Heuser and Mr Slocombe, who is also board secretary for the Atlantic Council, urge NATO to address nuclear proliferation among "rogue" states and non-state actors, the issue presenting the greatest contemporary threat to the alliance.

"A New Era of World Politics"

New Atlanticist Podcast with Bertelsmann Foundation Executive Director Annette Heuser

The trans-Atlantic partnership has undergone significant changes in recent years. The impact of globalization has raised the importance of American and European relationships with other regions of the world. In addition, a new generation of political leaders on both sides of the ocean lacks the sentimentality that often characterized the trans-Atlantic alliance of the past. In this interview, Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Sarwar Kashmeri asks Annette Heuser about the impact of these developments on the links among countries that remain the closest of economic and security partners.

New EU Leadership Must Earn Washington's Respect

EurActiv Interview with Bertelsmann Foundation Executive Director Annette Heuser

US President Obama's absence from May's EU-US summit will be the first and only wake-up call for Brussels. The president is signaling that he does not have time for events whose highlight is a photo-op. The Europeans have to ensure that any time Mr Obama invests in trans-Atlantic relations will be rewarded with concrete achievements.