July 7, 2015, Caf\u00e9 Jedna, Prague<\/p>\n
The first event of the Aspen Review Caf\u00e9<\/strong> debate series, accompanying the publication of the Aspen Review quarterly, focused on the role of Germany and its economy within the EU<\/strong>. Three renowned experts from different fields – Ulrike Gu\u00e9rot<\/strong> (European Democracy Lab),\u00a0Vladim\u00edr Handl<\/strong> (Institute of International Relations), and Petr Koblic<\/strong> (Prague Stock Exchange) – discussed a variety of current issues. The debate was chaired by our Supervisory Board member Ji\u0159\u00ed Schneider<\/strong>, who opened the event by presenting the new issue of the Aspen Review<\/strong> titled\u00a0State vs. Economy<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The evening couldn\u2019t have started with a topic other than the situation in Greece and its future in the Eurozone. Ulrike Gu\u00e9rot refused to label the issue as a conflict between Germany and Greece, pointing out that the whole European integration project is at stake. She also spoke critically about Germany\u2019s past reluctance to take its role within Europe seriously and to seek solutions in cooperation with its partners rather than promoting the German fiscal and economic system as the only right model suitable for everyone.<\/p>\n In contrast, Petr Koblic argued that the current problems were, in fact, caused by the representatives of Greece themselves. He expressed concerns in regards to Germany, should it be forced to invest more financial means in the solutions of the debt crisis. His concerns specifically addressed the possibility of increasing frustration in Germany and consequent rise of extremist parties.<\/p>\n The topic of Germany\u2019s attitude towards assuming a leadership role was then addressed by Vladim\u00edr Handl. He claimed that it was only the recent crisis that pushed Germany into a steering position \u2013 before, its representatives had little interest in leading Europe directly, but rather preferred to pull strings and influence other states through its successful economy. Ulrike Gu\u00e9rot shared the sentiments and explained that due to Germany’s tragic history and the subsequent pressure to deconstruct its power, the country lacks a system of training of its elites towards leadership.<\/p>\n The speakers\u2019 views differed about the current situation in Europe and Germany\u2019s role in the past and the future. However, they agreed, in conclusion of the debate, that the crisis opens a window of opportunity for reforms, more strategic thinking, and overall improvement of the political, social, and economic system of an integrated Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Aspen Review Caf\u00e9 series was launched at a debate about the role of Germany within the EU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14084,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-tag":[580],"class_list":["post-28784","news-article","type-news-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-tag-aspen-review-cafe-cz"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article\/28784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-article"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspeninstitutece.org\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tag?post=28784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}