Strategic Challenges and Political Perspectives

The 13th annual conference of the German-British Forum, held in association with the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany (BCCG) and Ernst & Young, will take place in Hamburg - the first time the venue for the annual conference has moved outside London. Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt will attend the conference and make brief welcoming remarks. We are very pleased that former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing will also be among the guest speakers.

The conference is supported by the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius, and, among others, the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Centre for European Reform. Berenberg Bank, British Airways, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche BP and Murmann Verlag are among the sponsors of the event.

The aim is to examine inter-linking developments in European monetary and economic policies in the light of strategic and political challenges stemming from the integration of world capital markets. The conference is timed to take account of the 30th anniversary of the establishment in 1978/79 of the European Monetary System, the forerunner of Economic and Monetary Union. It will look forward to the 10th anniversary of EMU in January 2009. The relationship between foreign and security policies on the one hand, and economic and monetary policies on the other, has been a crucial issue for decades of European policy-makers. The conference will look at these issues in the context of the growing debate on appropriate regulation of international financial flows, including the influence of state-owned investment companies. All these issues have been issues of focus in Mr Schmidt’s political career.

Although Britain is not a member of EMU, the UK is closely involved in the practical development of the single currency in view both of its status as the EMU area’s most important trading partner and also of the City of London’s role as a financial centre. The conference will investigate the status quo and future perspectives for the European Union in the light of general political developments including the trans-Atlantic relationship.