Search on Ifri.org

About Ifri

Frequent searches

Suggestions

The 2016 German White Paper. The consolidation of the “Munich consensus” and persisting questions

Papers
|
Date de publication
|
Référence taxonomie collections
Notes du Cerfa
Accroche

The 2016 White Paper on security policy and the future of the Bundeswehr is testament to Berlin’s declared will to play a more active role internationally, to assume more responsibility and to provide leadership in close concertation with its partners in Europe and the world. 

Image principale
WARSAW, POLAND - Jul 8, 2016: NATO summit.  Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel at the NATO summit in Warsaw
WARSAW, POLAND - Jul 8, 2016: NATO summit. Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel at the NATO summit in Warsaw
Drop of Light/Shutterstock.com
Corps analyses

This policy approach is nowadays labeled “Munich consensus” in reference to a number of speeches by high-ranking German officials at the annual security conference held in Bavaria’s capital. At the same time, Berlin stays true to itself and bets on multilateralism, the comprehensive approach and insists on the idea that the Bundeswehr is just one instrument among others of German security policy (and not necessarily the most appropriate one under all circumstances).

Unsurprisingly, however, a number of questions remain even after the new White Paper’s publication. Although the text clearly is a step forward for German security policy, putting into practice the newly declared ambitions will require measures well beyond consolidating the “Munich consensus” in a strategy document. This pertains to the conditions under which the Bundeswehr can be sent abroad, and notably in the case of scenarios lacking a clear legal basis. But this also concerns the question of whether there is enough political will to back up these new ambitions financially.

This paper is published in French: "Le Livre blanc allemand 2016. La consolidation du « consensus de Munich » et des questions qui persistent" 

 

Decoration

Available in:

Share

Decoration
Author(s)
Photo
photo_kunz.jpg

Barbara KUNZ

Image principale
The Pariser Platz (Paris Square) on the east side of the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
Accroche centre

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.

 

Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.

Image principale

A Franco-German “Reset”? The Ambitions of the Franco-German Council of Ministers. Challenges of Joint Leadership in Europe

Date de publication
27 August 2025
Accroche

As a Catholic from the Rhineland, Friedrich Merz is heir to the CDU’s Franco-German policy, from Konrad Adenauer to Helmut Kohl and Wolfgang Schäuble. While Franco-German rhetoric and reflexes are deeply ingrained in him, their results must nevertheless be put into perspective.

Image principale

Social Policies in Germany. Assessment of the “Traffic Light” Coalition and Prospects for the New Government

Date de publication
08 July 2025
Accroche

Notes du Cerfa, No. 188, Ifri, July 2025 — The defeat of the “traffic light” governing coalition in the snap parliamentary elections of February 2025 calls for an initial – necessarily selective – assessment of the social policies implemented during its term. 

Arnaud LECHEVALIER
Image principale

The “Huawei Saga” in Europe Revisited: German Lessons for the Rollout of 6G

Date de publication
02 June 2025
Accroche

While the European Union attempted to coordinate a collective response through its 5G Toolbox in Europe’s 5G infrastructure, member states diverged significantly in balancing political, economic, and technological considerations. Germany, despite its economic ties to China and status as Europe’s largest telecom market, only reached a tentative agreement in July 2024—one that appears largely symbolic. 

Tim RÜHLIG
Image principale

France, the U.S. Oldest and Most Complicated Ally: A Stubborn Defender of a Truly European Industrial and Defence Policy

Date de publication
10 April 2025
Accroche

France, the U.S.’ oldest ally, is also the EU country which most stubbornly defends genuinely European industrial and defence policies. It calls for ‘strategic autonomy’ in all political domains, a position increasingly difficult to hold against a hardening international climate.

Page image credits
WARSAW, POLAND - Jul 8, 2016: NATO summit. Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel at the NATO summit in Warsaw
Drop of Light/Shutterstock.com

How can this study be cited?

The 2016 German White Paper. The consolidation of the “Munich consensus” and persisting questions, from Ifri by
Copy