After the official project start in spring 2025, the coordinating team at the Hertie School’s Jacques Delors Centre is pleased to launch the “ReConf” website, collecting all information and output of the multi-annual research project.
Supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) the research unit “Reconfiguring Europe: Between Competence and Control” examines how the EU navigates the tension between effective international governance and national democratic control since spring 2025. In a rare move for a private institution, the Hertie School’s Jacques Delors Centre is coordinating the project. We are pleased to announce the launch of the official project website presenting all information on the project and its consortium, as well as all papers and news related to the “ReConf” project.
Led by Prof. Markus Jachtenfuchs, with Prof. Miriam Hartlapp (Freie Universität Berlin) serving as deputy spokesperson, the research project is funded with approximately €6 million over a runtime of four years, from 2025 to 2029. The newly established research unit will bring together a multidisciplinary team of lawyers and political scientists across nine research projects and one coordination project. Key questions include:
- How has the EU's use of agencies developed over time?
- What are the main developments in the staffing of EU institutions?
- What can this tell us about how power has historically been distributed in the EU?
- How have member states sought to maintain control over the EU's expanding pool of resources?
Topics range from populist influence and constitutional courts to joint procurement mechanisms for vaccines and energy.
Through the launch of the new website, the Jacques Delors Centre underscores its central role in European research, promotes interdisciplinary exchange, and enhances the public and academic visibility of this forward-looking research initiative.
A Collaborative Effort
The project consortium consists of scholars and administrative staff from the Hertie School, Freie Universität Berlin, ETH Zurich, the University of Bremen, and the University of Hamburg.
With the launch of this new platform, Reconfiguring Europe invites scholars, policymakers, and the public to engage with its findings and contribute to the ongoing conversation about the EU’s institutional future.