In his opening remarks at our virtual Annual Council Meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, spoke about Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and the high expectations which are placed on it. According to him, the next six months will be centred around two things: solidarity and sovereignty. In this week’s podcast, Mark Leonard is joined by our expert Jana Puglierin, head of the Berlin office to discuss the German EU Presidency in detail. What are the biggest challenges? Can Germany deliver on a greener, more social, and innovative recovery plan for the EU? Or are the expectations so high that they are set to fail? Watch the opening session of our Annual Council Meeting on Germany in Europe and the German EU Council Presidency here: https://youtu.be/r9FxIX6WapQ Remarks from Heiko Maas, Foreign Minister of Germany, at ECFR's virtual Annual Council Meeting 2020: https://www.ecfr.eu/article/remarks_from_heiko_maas_foreign_minister_of_germany_at_ecfr_annual_council This podcast was recorded on 3 July 2020 Bookshelf: · “Believer: My Forty Years in Politics” by David Axelrod