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
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
Taking stock of the Brexit vote
The Brexit vote has turned Berlin into a hive of activity
View from Berlin: Subdued shock
Political Berlin has been has been in a state of subdued shock following the Brexit vote
ECFR’s World in 30 Minutes: The European consequences of the British referendum
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with Piotr Buras, Head of the ECFR office in Warsaw, and Almut Möller, co-Head of the ECFR Berlin office, about…
The swansong of Germany’s foreign policy president
Gauck’s commitment to bringing the German people into the conversation has helped to widen the space for a challenge to a stronger German role in European and international security
The Franco-German Cooperation in the Midst of European crises
Séminaire du 2 juin à la représentation de la Commission européenne en France Panel 2: Perspectives comparées sur les priorités de politique étrangère et…
The refugee crisis after the EU-Turkey deal
Conférence du mercredi 1 juin sur la crise des réfugiés et l'accord UE-Turquie avec: – Gerald Knaus, Président de European Stability Initiative (ESI);…
Has Berlin overdone the challenge of migration?
It is now time to look at the collateral damage that Berlin’s desperate attempts to bring numbers down have meant for the EU system as a whole
Time to start talking Turkey with Erdoğan
Angela Merkel needs a set of policy alternatives that she can build on if Erdoğan does, in fact, let her down, or if he continues to raise the price tag, strengthening the voice of her critics at home and in Europe as a whole
Germany’s defence doublespeak
While Germany's role in security is of increasing importance, German politicians must downplay it for a domestic audience
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