On May 16-17, 2013, the Latvian Institute of International Affairs in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) organized the German-Baltic Strategy Talks 2013. Prominent experts from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, and also from Hungary and Poland, took part in the event that this year came under a subtitle “Overcoming the Eurocrisis: Baltic-German Strategic Engagement”.
The German-Baltic Strategy Talks 2013 were devoted to research and debates on the changes that are caused by problems and shifts within the Eurozone, the European Union and global politics. Germany is one the leading countries in the EU and aspiring European champions in economic and political achievements; the Baltic States form an important part of the functioning the Baltic region. Are the Baltic States a new natural partner for Germany, and what is the place of the Baltics in the emerging re-shaped European Union? Can one identify Europe’s future in the context of the MFF 2014-2020 talks and the sovereign debt crisis? Is there in Europe a political and economic alliance that is sustainable without the securitizing presence of the US? Can we perceive the EU’s relations with the CIS countries without the European Neighbourhood Policy? While answering these questions, new issues for future debate were posed at the event.