The lesson of 2016: How to reverse the EU’s decline
What European policymaking needs now is a new devotion to grit-and-grind dispassion.
Experts & Staff
Almut Möller
ECFR Alumni · Head, ECFR Berlin
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
European integration & reform; European foreign and security policy; Germany in Europe
Languages
English, French, German
Biography
Almut Möller was a senior policy fellow and has been head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations since October 2015. She has published widely on European affairs, foreign and security policy, and Germany’s role in the EU, and is a frequent commentator in the German and international media.
Möller started her career in the think tank world at the Centre for Applied Policy Research at LMU University in Munich and then worked as an independent political analyst in London, focussing on EU-Middle East relations. Before joining ECFR she led the Europe programme at the German Council on Foreign Relations. Research fellowships have taken her to Renmin University of China in Beijing, the Al Ahram Center for Political and Security Studies in Cairo and the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., where she continues to engage as a non-resident fellow.
Möller is a member of the extended board of Women in International Security (WIIS.de) as well as a member of the Strategic Council of the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels. She is also an experienced conference moderator and facilitator.
Download a high-resolution picture here. Copyright (c) Dirk Enters/ DGAP
Is Merkel the new “leader of the free world”?
Angela Merkel is not a fan of flashy titles, but she has already started to build support at home for a stronger Germany in Europe and the world
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: Merkel – the leader of the free world?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with journalist and Angela Merkel's official biographer Stefan Kornelius and ECFR fellows Almut Möller and Josef Janning about Merkel's candidacy…
Views from the Capitals: Europe reacts to President-elect Trump
What do EU countries think of Donald Trump’s victory?
Berlin is bracing itself for President Trump
The German government is to step up its efforts to keep Europeans together
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: The blocking of CETA
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Almut Möller, head of ECFR’s Berlin office, and François Godement, director of the Asia and China programme, about the…
Frau Merkel goes to Africa
Domestic concerns over migration have sharpened Berlin's interest in Africa
Merkel keeping one eye on Britain’s “UK first” approach
As much as Berlin would like to prevent negotiations with the UK turning sour, it is hard to envisage any other outcome
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: France and Germany – political tumult in the core of Europe
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with heads of office Almut Möller and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil about political debates in France and Germany. What directions are…
Germany and the UK: Hints of a role reversal
The EU debate in Berlin has moved on to one that is more instrumental, aiming to work out what the Union can contribute to protect and empower Europe’s citizens to continue their lives in freedom, security, and prosperity.
Publications
Untapped potential: How new alliances can strengthen the EU
Fragmentation in the EU makes it increasingly difficult for member states to build coalitions. The EU Coalition Explorer reveals potential new groupings
Germany votes: European dilemmas in the Federal Election
In the federal election year, Germans are ready to give new European solutions a strong boost and take more risks
Leading from the centre: Germany’s role in Europe
Berlin does not want to dominate Europe, but to exercise leadership via EU institutions – something that will be essential in a post-Brexit world
Articles
The three eras since reunification
Almut Möller's farewell Note from Berlin looks at the three eras of German political history since the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago
Election 2019: What Germany’s parties want for Europe
Political leaders are jostling for space in a crowded field. But German voters appear to be enjoying the show
EU Cohesion Monitor 2019: The untold story of European resilience
ECFR’s newly released Cohesion Monitor charts a decade of upheaval in Europe – and reveals that European cohesion is now, in fact, stronger than in the pre-crisis year of 2007
Can Slovakia and the Czech Republic overcome Europe’s east-west divide?
Prague and Bratislava can jointly develop a more visible profile within the Visegrad 4 group and counter the overall dominance of Hungary and Poland
Bracing for Brexit: Could ‘no deal’ chaos spread to Germany?
Berlin’s public pronouncements on the risks of Brexit do not yet measure up to the scale of the potential fallout
True north: Finland’s commitment to the European project
Finland is an enthusiastic member of the European Union – but it could do with making more links across the continent
Rome alone? Italy’s weak coalition networks
Having previously been a strong supporter of European integration, Rome's current dissidence within the EU has led to a dramatic weakening of cohesion between Italy and other EU member states
Czechs and balances: can Berlin shake up the Visegrád group?
Having so far ignored the Czech Republic's interest in working with it, Berlin has a chance to help the country join new coalitions
An awkward embrace: Erdoğan in Germany
As the economic crisis in Turkey intensifies, Germany should decide whether and how it wants to help
Portugal: A good European in search of friends
Portugal has at times punched above its weight in modern EU history. But it needs new friends if it is to do so again
Specials
The future shape of Europe: How the EU can bend without breaking
A critical mass of countries agree on the need for more flexible cooperation, but what could it look like?
Podcasts
Les élections européennes vues d’Allemagne
Podcast de notre BCM du 29 janvier « Les élections européennes vues d'Allemagne » en présence d'Almut Möller, directrice du bureau de l'ECFR…
The Aachen Treaty: A closer Franco-German relationship?
Anthony Dworkin steps in for Mark Leonard and speaks with Almut Möller, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil and Tom Nuttall about how significant the new treaty of friendship…
Close Contact? Coalition Building in the EU
ECFR’s EU28 Survey reveals the interactions, perceptions, and chemistry between the 28 EU member states. This week, Mark Leonard joins Josef Janning, Christoph Klavehn and…
The Idlib crisis – Can Turkey and Europe avert disaster?
Mark Leonard examines the looming Syrian-Russian military action in Idlib in discussion with ECFR experts Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Almut Möller. What do Turks…
Turkey’s financial and economic crisis: A bail-out?
Mark Leonard speaks with Oksana Antonenko, Director for Global Political risk Analysis at Control Risks, and ECFR Turkey experts Asli Aydintasbas and Almut Moeller about…
Macron: one year on
Mark Leonard speaks with Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, Almut Möller and Vessela Tcherneva, about what has changed in French foreign policy with Macron one year in…
Macron-Merkel: Europe’s new power couple?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard talks with the director of ECFR's offices in Paris, Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, and Berlin, Almut Möller, about President Macron’s newly appointed…
Mark’s World in 30 Minutes: German-Turkish Spat: a Storm in a Tea Cup?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's senior fellows, Asli Aydintasbas and Almut Moeller on the German-Turkish diplomatic spat, the forthcoming polls and the bigger…
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: Merkel – the leader of the free world?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with journalist and Angela Merkel's official biographer Stefan Kornelius and ECFR fellows Almut Möller and Josef Janning about Merkel's candidacy…
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: The blocking of CETA
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Almut Möller, head of ECFR’s Berlin office, and François Godement, director of the Asia and China programme, about the…
In the media
Almut Möller writes for the “AufRuhr” Magazine of Stiftung Mercator about the challenges of European cohesion the new Commission will face
Die Welt mentions Almut Möller's new appointment as Hamburg’s EU and Foreign Affairs State Councillor
The Tagesspiegel mentions Almut Möller's appointment as Hamburg’s EU and Foreign Affairs State Councillor
Head of the Berlin Office, Almut Möller, in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung on what it takes to become a good EU Commissioner
Head of the Berlin Office, Almut Möller, talks on Deutschlandfunk about Brexit, the American Afghanistan strategy and more