With the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, America will realign its leadership role in the world. Now, Europe and America have the opportunity to write a new chapter in transatlantic relations and thus put the partnership between Germany and America on a new footing. For Germany, the opportunity this presents is linked to the challenge of introducing new ideas, adapting its strategies to the changing reality, reviewing existing instruments of political and economic governance, and redefining the focus of its actions. The global structure is currently changing dramatically. A simple "business as usual" would lead transatlantic relations to a dead end. In the strategic competition of the future, the main issue is to ensure how to live in freedom, security, prosperity and sustainability. North America and Europe will only be able to survive this competition together. The competition will express itself in many ways and especially within international organizations in the struggle for trade, health, security, environmental and human rights standards or for property rights. The most serious consequence of this competition is a geo-economic reordering of the world in which the cards of power and influence will be rewritten.

The goal of the transatlantic focus of CASSIS is to create new formats of transatlantic exchange in cooperation with partner institutions in the United States, to launch cross-thematic, forward-looking joint research projects, and to provide impetus for a new beginning in transatlantic relations.