The Steinmeier Review of German Foreign Policy

The Steinmeier Review of German Foreign Policy

Posted by: Jan Techau

Thursday, March 19, 2015 | http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=59422&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvKXNZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIGRcR0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
In the think tank business, we tend to be slightly obsessed with review processes. Think tankers will always defend the value of a long, all-encompassing strategy process at the end of which stands a document that will provide clarity, guidance, and answers to the complex challenges ahead.
When such a review is conducted by Germany, the attention for this kind of process goes beyond the think tank class. Eyebrows are also raised in diplomatic circles, across the EU institutions, and in the international media. Berlin’s fundamental orientations and beliefs are too relevant for everyone—including for many powers outside the Old World—to be ignored.
On March 16 at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the findings of Review 2014, a year-long assessment of German foreign policy he had conducted inside and outside the German Foreign Office. The process sought to find out what the new demands on Berlin’s diplomacy were, how Germans looked at those demands, and what the Foreign Office could do to deal better with the country’s new international role.
For those willing to read between the lines, both the final report and Steinmeier’s comments in Brussels have a lot to offer. At the end of Review 2014, four messages seem to stand out.http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=59422&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvKXNZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIGRcR0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D