MUNICH (Feb. 14, 2020) – The Loisach Group, a German-American partnership, convened for the ninth time on the on the eve of the Munich Security Conference.

The Minister of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Dr. Florian Herrmann, hosted the event that opened the Loisach Group in the Prince Carl Palais.

This meeting of the Loisach Group was devoted to contemporary crises; U.S. and German cooperation, with an emphasis on the Defender 20 military exercise; and Great Power competition with an emphasis on the economy.

Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli and German Lt. Gen. Martin Schelleis, Chief of German Joint Support and Enabling Command, gave keynote speeches and answered questions from the fifty high-ranking participants who represented state and economic sectors, as well as think tanks.

After these presentations, the Loisach Group participated in a side event at the Munich Security Conference to discuss “Defender Europe,” which is designed to train for collective defense of the Alliance within Europe in 2020.

"Defender Europe shows the continued commitment of the U.S. to Europe," Cavoli said.

The George. C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies has been formally cooperating with the Munich Security Conference since August 2017 in a forum called Loisach Group. This group is named after the river Loisach that runs through Garmisch and toward Munich. It symbolizes the ideas and recommendations that are developed in Garmisch and contribute to the MSC and help shape its content and discussions. The objective of the Loisach Group platform is to support the strategic German-American dialogue.