Deploying the Bundeswehr: more transparency, more flexibility, but Parliament’s consent remains key - The Rühe Commission’s final report
Besides the often invoked historical dimension behind Germany’s strategic culture of restraint, there are today very tangible legal reasons that prevent assertive German military interventionism (which are, of course, directly linked to the historical dimension): any intervention of the German armed forces requires the Bundestag’s consent.
The current regulations have been confirmed by the German Constitutional Court on a number of occasions. In the spring of 2014, the German Bundestag implemented a Commission – headed by former minister of defense Volker Rühe – that was tasked to review the existing legal framework and to prepare recommendations intended to reconcile the Bundestag's right with a strengthened German ability to participate in multilateral cooperation.
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Deploying the Bundeswehr: more transparency, more flexibility, but Parliament’s consent remains key - The Rühe Commission’s final report
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.
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