On December 2, 2010, The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law welcomed Dr. Klaus Scharioth, German Ambassador to the United States, to discuss the future of transatlantic relations.

Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Robert Chesney and Robert Hutchings, Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, introduced Ambassador Scharioth and welcomed audience members.

 
Ambassador Scharioth began emphasized that today’s global problems cannot be tackled by any one nation alone.  He noted that the shared values of Europe and North America, including human rights, tolerance and freedom of the press, make the regions natural partners in tackling global challenges.  

Ambassador Scharioth described several issues on which Europe and North America should work together, such as the economic crisis and financial oversight, nuclear proliferation, climate change and energy security, failing states and violent extremism.  He also cited Germany’s success in dealing with some of these issues, including policy changes that have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 28 percent since 1990 without compromising growth.  Additionally, Germany’s short-term work initiative has reduced the country’s unemployment to a lower level than before the economic crisis. 

Audience members posed questions regarding the future of involvement in Afghanistan, the role of migrant workers in Germany’s economy and European strategy for poverty reduction.

Ambassador Scharioth, who holds M.A., M.A.L.D., and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, has served in the German Foreign Service since 1976.  He has held numerous posts, including Chef de Cabinet  (director of the private office) to the NATO Secretary-General. In that capacity, he worked on an array of issues including the creation of the Permanent Joint Council with Russia and issues arising out of NATO involvement in the Balkans.  In the mid-1990s he served as Head of the Defense and Security Policy Division of the Foreign Office, and later as the Head of the Foreign Office’s International Security and North America Directorate.  From 2002 to 2006, he served as State Secretary, the Foreign Office’s highest civil service post.  He has been Germany’s Ambassador to the United States since that time.

Watch the full presentation below:

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