was German foreign minister and vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2005. In 2006 he was made visiting professor of international economic policy at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. In 2007, he founded Joschka Fischer Consulting. He is a founding member and Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the curatorium of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna. In May 2005, in his function as foreign minister, he was awarded the Leo Baeck Prize by the Central Council of Jews in Germany for his services in the Middle Eastern Conflict. On 20 May 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tel Aviv. 2007 saw the publication in Cologne of Die rot-grünen Jahre. Deutsche Außenpolitik – vom Kosovo bis zum 11. September [The Red-Green years. German foreign policy – from Kosovo to September 11].
An arms race in the Middle East would affect European security to an unimaginable degree, says Joschka Fischer. By drawing on its positive experience in conflict resolution, Europe can play a major role in averting such a development. But does it have the instruments and institutions to do so? Given the urgency of the situation in Middle East, can Europeans afford the luxury of being against Europe?
