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Germany - the Reluctant Hegemon
The Case for Renewing Transatlantic Capitalism
final report of the New Atlantic Capitalism project
 This paper concludes a series of meetings and policy discussions held since the end of 2010 as part of the project on New Atlantic Capitalism. Our objective has been to examine the pressing economic challenges facing both the EU and the US as a consequence of the financial crisis, the Great Recession and the crisis in the euro area, focusing on the transatlantic points of convergence and divergence. We conclude that the US and Europe will walk separate ways at their own peril. We suggest that only by joining forces can the transatlantic community most effectively respond to these economic challenges, protect American and European interests and help ensure the prosperity and peace that has been the post-war legacy of the transatlantic alliance.
Greening the EU Budget
– the Battle Goes On.
Fog is clearing over Brussels
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Given the political and economic tremors all around Europe, Germany stands out as being at ease with itself. Long gone are the agonising debates about German decline. The business community is confident about the prospects for its continued global success. More of the same is expected on the balance sheets as the taste for German products does not subside in the emerging markets. 
The debate on the EU budget is in full swing with the Commission’s overall proposal having now been followed by draft regulations with detailed recommendations for the specific areas of spending. In parallel, it has become clear that intervention from the EU budget will have an even more important role in the building of a low-carbon economy in Europe. President Barroso has called this a “once in a lifetime opportunity”. Resource scarcity and competition are accelerating and bearing more heavily on Europe’s attempts to emerge from the current crisis. This makes it necessary for the new EU financial perspective to be part of an ambitious plan for a resource-efficient, innovative economy, which can overcome the squeeze on growth and become a key driver of future economic resilience. 
