Amidst the ongoing crisis between Russia and the Ukraine, Germany’s energy dependence and Nord Stream 2 have been major topics of discussion – within Germany, across Europe, and in the United States. The pipeline has been a controversial subject for years, but after Russia’s formal recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, it has been put on ice by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops changes everything. However, the current moment remains part of a longer narrative…

1014 and the American Council on Germany hosted a discussion which put the pipeline project and Germany’s energy dependency in a broader context. Featuring Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Executive Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. (Environmental Action Germany), an independent non-profit organization which was founded in 1975 and is focused on environmental and consumer protection; and Dr. Steven E. Sokol, President of American Council on Germany (ACG).

Steven E. Sokol is the President of the American Council on Germany. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. Earlier in his career, Steve served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin.

Sascha Müller-Kraenner has served as Executive Director/CEO of Environmental Action Germany (Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V., DUH) since Janaury 2015. DUH is a leading environment and consumer advocacy organization that works mostly at the German state and national as well as on the European level. He is also a founding partner and board member to Ecologic Institute, a non-profit applied environmental policy research institute with offices in Berlin, Brussels and Washington DC. Before assuming his current role, he held various positions with The Nature Conservancy between 2007 and 2014, and earlier in his career he worked for the Heinrich-Böll Foundation. Mr. Müller-Kraenner studied Philosophy in Munich and graduated with honors in Biology and Public Law from the University of Bayreuth.