Christian values and religious identities in the European community were the subjects of an event in March which was launched by a speech of Alois Glück, Chairman of the Central Committee of German Catholics. He emphasized the pre-eminence of rule-of-law principles, but warned against the secularization of the public domain and against disregarding Christian value traditions. In view of the ongoing economization of many aspects of life, there was a danger that life would be narrowed down to a purely economic contest without regard for human dignity.

In April, the Hanns-Seidel Foundation organized a discussion on sustainable solutions for large towns in Brussels, addressing the ongoing urbanization as one of the global mega-trends. EU-Commissioner Günther Oettinger, Siemens board member Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger and Dr. Angelika Niebler, CSU MEP, pointed out the pioneering efforts of Bavaria and Europe to set the course for the social and ecological future of the world. The EU needed common strategies for action on the internal energy market, and it was time to begin with the establishment of pan-European energy infrastructures through a European mains system and intelligent line systems. The global financial and economic crisis had brought the global economy to the brink of catastrophe. National and international support programmes costing billions of Euros had succeeded in stabilizing the financial system but had done nothing to end the systemic crisis. Markus Ferber, CSU Whip and member of the European parliament, and Dr. Peter Grassmann, CEO of the Bavarian Environment Academy, presented solutions for implementing a value-oriented market economy. Associations should define a codex of values for each sector and should adhere to the values of honourable merchants. According to Markus Ferber, the priority targets of the EU should be to achieve better political coherence, to stabilize the financial markets and to improve global crisis management.

In June, the Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitrij Rogozin, Thomas Silberhorn, MP and member of the CSU, Eduard Kukan, MEP and former Foreign Minister of Slovakia as well as Jamie Shea, Director of NATO planning staff, discussed common risks, strategies and trouble spots in Europe. Rogozin explained the fundamental objectives of Russian politics which he described as external security and internal modernization. Russia wanted to finally overcome the artificial division of Europe which had its origin in the Cold War and confirmed that Russia was no longer a threat to Europe’s security. Thomas Silberhorn outlined the concept of a streamlined and strong EU with less internal centralization in favour of international coordination. He emphasized the EU consensus on security policies, with NATO as the most important instrument of European security and a new European security structure which should not be implemented without NATO’s consent. Concerning the common security management of NATO and the EU, Jamie Shea spoke of tangible improvements in communication and operational coordination. While the US had been very wary of Europe as a “Trojan Horse” in the past, international missions were now very closely coordinated.

On the occasion of a joint commemoration of the 20th anniversary of German reunification, the Hanns-Seidel Foundation, the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation and the Centre for European Studies placed the reunification of Germany in the context of European unification. The panel featured international guests such as the French and British members of the European parliament, Jean-Paul Gauzès and James Elles, the Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, and Dr. Stephan Eisel, former Deputy Manager of the Chancellor’s Office of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The Chairman of the European People’s Party and former Belgian Premier, Dr. Wilfried Martens, opened the event and reminded people of the terrible times when Europe suffered from German aggression in the First and Second World War, but also of the positive impulses set by German politics after the war. The CDU and the CSU had been the backbone of European integration across all these decades. The participants agreed that a stronger European spirit was needed in order to overcome the credibility crisis of the EU and to regain the trust of its citizens.

Within the scope of a „Brussels Interview“ by FOCUS editor Ottmar Berbalk and ZDF correspondent Kai Niklasch, Christian Schmidt, MP and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Defence Ministry, placed the reform of the German armed forces in its international context. The need to act resulted from budget restrictions, from the unsparing conclusions of the Structure Committee (imbalance between input and output) and from increased EU responsibilities in international politics. The armed forces counted 250,000 soldiers, of which only 7,500 were available for missions abroad, which represented a striking imbalance. It was the firm conviction of the State Secretary that the armed forces would remain anchored in society and that its personnel would be recruited from all classes of society as before, but that they could be deployed more flexibly and to greater effect as a result of the reforms.

In order to help reduce scepticism still prevailing among Russian political leaders against NATO and the EU, the Hanns-Seidel Foundation invited a high-ranking delegation of Russian politicians and socio-political disseminators to talks in Brussels in late November. During these talks, influential EU representatives, e.g. Laszlo Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Integration, Carl Hallergard, security advisor to Catherine Ashton, and Gunnar Wiegand, European Commission Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, discussed the outline of a comprehensive long-term partnership between Russia and the EU. Talks with NATO representatives established that the new NATO strategy had good prospects of substantially improving cooperation between Russia and NATO on security matters.