News
Treccani-Vigoni Forum 2026
From 8 to 10 July 2026, Prof. Dr. Eva G. Heidbreder participated in the Treccani-Vigoni Forum at Villa Vigoni. Under the theme "A New Sovereignty for Europe", representatives from academia, politics and diplomacy came together to discuss the future of Europe. Prof. Heidbreder led a panel on the European Union's economic challenges. Together with former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, Prof. Dr. Manuela Moschella (University of Bologna) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Christiansen (LUISS University Rome), the discussion explored current challenges, possible policy responses and perspectives for the EU's economic development. As a part of the forum, Prof. Heidbreder was also awarded the Villa Vigoni Honorary Pin. The chair of European Studies congratulates her to this deserved recognition!
13th Biennial Conference of the SGEU in Catania
The EUS Team participated with several academic contributions in the 13th Biennial Conference of the ECPR Standing Group on the European Union (SGEU), held at the University of Catania, Italy, from 1 to 3 July 2026. The international conference brought together researchers from various disciplines to discuss current developments and challenges for the European Union. Prof. Dr. Eva G. Heidbreder, Dr. Johannes Gerken and Alba Maria Kugelmeier Lopez presented their research on key questions of European governance, EU policymaking and institutional development. In addition, they participated in panels and contributed their expertise to the academic exchange.
Further information about the conference can be found here.https://ecpr.eu/Events/341
Best Paper Award goes to members of the EUS-Team
Congratulations to Dr. Johannes Gerken and Alba Kugelmeier-Lopez, who were awarded the 'Best Paper Award for Early Career Researchers' by the German Political Science Association's section on policy analysis and public administration. Their paper "Revised Coordination within the European Commission: Breaking up Policy Silos or Building New Bottlenecks?" received the most votes from the attending scholars at the section's annual conference, held in Magdeburg on March 12/13. In the paper, Kugelmeier-Lopez and Gerken present a new approach to measuring the ongoing presidentialisation of the European Commission using network analysis.
COREX annual conference 2026 in Zagreb
Dr. Gerken participated in this year's COREX conference in Zagreb, bringing together researchers from more than 30 countries. Funded by the COST Association, COREX is a network of researchers working comparatively on executive triangles, consisting of executive politicans, top advisers, and senior bureaucrats. As part of the network, Dr. Gerken and Prof. Heidbreder contribute research on the structure of executive triangles in the European Commission (Working Group 1) and on the career paths of choiceholders in the triangle (Working Group 2). Both also chair a new subgroup on multi-level careers in the European Union, established during the Zagreb meeting. The subgroub aims to study executive-triangle career paths across different levels of governance in the EU, situated within the broader debate about an emerging European Administrative Space.
Further information about the project can be found here.
PROSPER Workshop 2026
Prof. Heidbreder participated in the PROSPER Conference "The EU as a Union of Solidarity" at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on 23-24 April 2026.
Her presentation focussed on ongoing shifts in a multilevel governance due to changing funding rules and the envisaged changes in the long-term EU budget management.
The Chair and the team are part of the PROSPER network, for more information see:
https://prospernetwork.eu/event/the-eu-as-a-union-of-solidarity/
