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Report Parliamentary Mission to the Country
that will next hold Berlin, Germany
A. Introduction and overview A delegation of three parliamentarians from the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association travelled to Berlin, Germany, for high-level meetings with members of the Bundestag, the German parliament’s lower house, government officials and experts in preparation for the upcoming German Presidency of the European Union (EU). The delegation was led by Association president the Hon. Lorna Milne, Senator, and included from the Senate the Hon. Mac Harb and from the House of Commons Mr. David Tilson. The delegation was accompanied by association secretary Philippe Méla and advisor Marcus Pistor. In addition to meetings on Germany’s upcoming EU presidency, the Canadian delegation had the opportunity to discuss political, economic, cultural and academic relations between Germany and Canada with officials, academics and representatives of the cultural community. B. Program 1. Briefing Sessions with Embassy Officials on German-Canadian Relations and Germany’s Relevance to Canada. In the first of two session, officials from the Political, Consular and Economic / Trade Sections of the Canadian Embassy briefed the delegation on the current political situation in Germany, Germany’s foreign policy and international role, bilateral economic and political relations between Canada and Germany, and the German government’s plans for its presidency of the European Union’s Council (January to June 2007). Officials highlighted Germany’s central role in global politics, including as a key member of organizations such as the G8 and the EU, as one of the worlds largest exporters and a key trade partner of major economies around the world, and as one of the largest donors of development assistance. Noting that Germany is prepared to act internationally and that it shares Canada’s commitment to strengthening multilateral institutions and international law and to democracy and human rights, they argued that Germany is second only to the United States in terms of partnership potential for Canada. With regard to Germany’s preparations for the EU presidency, officials highlighted the country’s commitment to renewing the constitutional process following the failure of the Constitutional Treaty to be ratified by all EU members, Germany’s efforts to decrease bureaucracy at the EU level and to making Europe more competitive globally, as well as, among other issues, the goal of developing a common energy policy for the EU. 2. Meeting with Dr. Uwe Corsepius, Head of European Policy Branch, Federal Chancellery, and Senior European Policy Advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel Dr. Corsepius provided the delegation with an overview of his government’s EU policy and preparations for the EU presidency. He told delegates that Chancellor Merkel has set a clear agenda with a limited number of priorities and explained that the presidency will be divided into two parts: The first will focus on competitiveness and social affairs (developing better regulations, ensuring respect for the subsidiarity principle, implementing of the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, and achieving a 25% reduction in bureaucratic costs to companies and citizens) and on energy policy (development of an EU energy plan, including the diversification of energy sources and the creation of an EU energy market). The latter would also include efforts to begin a new phase of global negotiations on climate change. According to Dr. Corsepius, the second part of the German EU presidency will focus on the constitutional process with Germany likely proposing a road map for a renewed effort that would not only seek to address the need for institutional reform, including a clearer division of powers between the EU and national levels of government, but that would also address the need to have the EU reflect more clearly the shared values of Europeans, specifically the commitment to human rights and the balance between the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the EU. 3. Roundtable with Experts of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) The delegation met with researchers and policy advisors of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, one of Germany’s leading foreign policy think tanks. Dr. Andreas Maurer, Head of Research Unit European Integration, and researchers Prof. Peter Schmidt, Dr. Annegret Bendiek, Dr. Stormy Mildner, Frank Kupferschmidt, and Anthony Seaboyer offered their insights on a range of issues, including the priorities of the German EU presidency, the stalled EU constitutional treaty, the future of transatlantic relations in general and Canada’s relations with a changing Europe in particular (specifically with regard to the impact of an evolving European Security and Defence Policy on NATO), the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and the future of the Council of Europe. The meeting offered valuable insights from a non-government perspective. 4. Meeting with the Parliamentary Committee for Affairs of the European Union in the German Bundestag At an informal meeting with senior members of the Bundestag’s Committee on the Affairs of the European Union, German parliamentarians expressed a strong interest in deepening relations between Canada and Germany, especially in areas such as immigration and integration policy and federalism. Discussion then turned to Germany’s EU presidency. According to the German parliamentarians, the following areas will require particular attention from the German government: the need for a renewed constitutional process, the importance of moving forward on EU-Russian relations (especially with respect to energy), ways of strengthening the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and the possibility of using synergies form Germany simultaneous presidency of the EU and the G8. 5. Meeting with Michael Clauss, Deputy Head of Europe Branch, Federal Foreign Office At the German Foreign office, the delegation received a briefing from Michael Clauss, deputy head of the Europe Branch. In a remarkably frank exchange of views, Mr. Claus highlighted the many challenges facing the EU and the German presidency, including the low level of public support for the EU and the prospect of political change and instability in key member countries. According to Mr. Clauss, these will make it difficult for the EU to address the many challenges it faces both internally (such as the apparent failure of the constitutional treaty and the need for institutional reform, the need for economic reform, and the growing threat of terrorism) and internationally (including the emergence of India and China as new global powers, and the need to address security and development issues in the Mediterranean region). To be able to effectively address these challenges, he argued, the EU needs to strengthen cooperation among its members but also with key partners. In addition to developments in the European Union, the EU’s international role, and cooperation between Canada and the EU in areas such as internal security, immigration, integration of migrants, and energy, the situation in the Middle East and the ability of Germany and of the EU to act as honest brokers in the conflicts there were discussed. 6. Public Diplomacy, Academic Relations, Canadian Culture in Berlin and Germany: Briefing Session with Embassy Officials and Related Program Items In addition to attending a second briefing session with embassy officials, which focused on the embassy’s extensive activities in the areas of public affairs and public diplomacy, promoting Canadian art and culture, academic relations (including exchanges and supporting Canadian studies programs in Germany), and youth exchanges, the Canadian delegation had the opportunity to meet with selected guests from Berlin’s cultural and academic community at a lunch co-hosted offered by senior Embassy officials. The delegation also visited the Hamburger Bahnhof, a museum of modern art, to see new Art Exhibition featuring Canadian and international artists: Beyond Cinema. The Art of Projection. These program elements highlighted the importance of the active role played by the Canadian embassy in helping Canadian artists, authors and musicians establish a presence in Germany and Europe, but also of the embassy’s role in shaping Canada’s public image in Germany, where too often perceptions are either outdated or based on single issues such as the seal hunt. 7. Other Program Elements The Canadian delegation was welcomed to the German parliament at a dinner hosted by Klaus‑Peter Flosbach, Chair of the German-Canadian Parliamentary Association, and attended by several Members of the Bundestag. This gave parliamentarians from both countries the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues, including bilateral relations and Canada’s presence in Berlin, preparations for Germany’s EU presidency, the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as well as Germany’s electoral system. The Canadian delegation also attended a plenary session of the Bundestag. This was followed by a special guided tour of the Reichstag building that houses the Bundestag. In addition to meeting with German parliamentarians, officials, experts, and others, Canadian delegates benefited from several other program elements: They attended a session of a conference held at the Canadian Embassy on “Education in an Immigration Society - What can communities/local authorities do?”, which was co-hosted by the Canadian Embassy, the Freudenberg Foundation, the Berlin Office of Lower Saxony and the Federal Association of Regional Centres for Education, Integration and Democracy. This was followed by informal meetings with conference participants. Finally, the delegation was honoured with a reception hosted by Ambassador Paul Dubois at the Canadian Embassy with selected guests from the Embassy’s political and economic networks in Germany. Guests included academics, parliamentarians and a former federal minister. Delegates also were given a guided tour of the prestigious and highly acclaimed new Embassy and of the Marshall McLuhan Multimedia Centre, the Embassy’s multimedia information centre where visitors have the opportunity to discover Canadian culture, geography, politics and technologies through the use of “state-of-the-art technical equipment.”(1) The delegation was highly impressed by the activities carried out by our embassy, and particularly by the exceptional educational opportunities offered by the Marshall McLuhan Multimedia Centre |
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