Public event

Henrik Enderlein Fellowship Lecture and Discussion – Integrating New Members: Strengthening the Rule of Law in a Growing EU

Established in 2022 by the Hertie School and the Stiftung Mercator, the esteemed annually awarded Henrik Enderlein Fellowship stands as a tribute to the legacy of the former Hertie School President, Henrik Enderlein, and is specially tailored to scholars and experts from the realms of politics and civil society who engage in research and teaching at the Hertie School. The event is dedicated to celebrating the legacy of Henrik Enderlein and fostering important discussions on Europe's future.

This year’s event will feature Besa Shahini, former Minister for Education, Youth, and Sports of Albania, passing the fellowship to John Morijn, Professor of Law & Politics in International Relations at the University of Groningen and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Both fellows will share their insights in brief opening statements: Besa Shahini will speak on EU enlargement, particularly focusing on the Western Balkans, while John Morijn will address the critical issue of rule of law within the EU. These opening statements will lead into a panel discussion on the theme “Integrating New Members: Strengthening the Rule of Law in a Growing EU”, moderated by Thu Nguyen, Deputy Director at the Jacques Delors Centre. The panel will also feature Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

This event is particularly significant as it takes place one day before what would have been Henrik Enderlein’s 50th birthday. We will take a moment to remember Henrik who was a prominent figure in European economic and political affairs.

Programme:

  1. Welcome and Introduction: Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School, and Magdalena Kirchner, Director Centre for Europe in the World, Stiftung Mercator
  2. Key Remarks: Besa Shahini, former Minister for Education, Youth, and Sports of Albania and John Morijn, Professor of Law & Politics in International Relations at the University of Groningen and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
  3. Panel Discussion:
  • Besa Shahini, former Minister for Education, Youth, and Sports of Albania and previous Henrik Enderlein Fellow
  • John Morijn, Professor of law & politics in international relations at the University of Groningen and Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and new Henrik Enderlein Fellow
  • Franziska Brantner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
  • Moderator: Thu Nguyen, Deputy Director, Jacques Delors Centre

 

The Henrik Enderlein Fellowship is supported by Stiftung Mercator. We look forward to welcoming you to this meaningful event, which promises to be an evening of insightful discussions and a fitting tribute to Henrik Enderlein’s legacy.

Speakers

Besa Shahini

  • Besa Shahini, the previous Enderlein Fellow, is a Kosovar Albanian politician. After holding the post of Deputy Minister focusing on pre-university education from 2017, she served as the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Albania from January 2019 to September 2021. Shahini earned a Master of Public Policy from the Hertie School in 2009, writing her thesis with Prof. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi on agricultural policy and development in Georgia. On 10 May 2019, she was honoured with the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award at the annual Alumni Reunion of the Hertie School for her outstanding service and engagement for the common good.  Afterwards, she worked on EU enlargement and education as a Senior Analyst with the European Stability Initiative (ESI). 

John Morijn

  • John Morijn is the new Enderlein Fellow. He is a 2023-2024 Fellow in Law and Public Policy at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Relations and the NGIZ Professor of law and politics in international relations at the University of Groning. He worked as a senior EU affairs adviser and senior human rights law at the Ministries of Justice and the Interior, working mainly on EU human rights and rule of law-, and privacy issues. More recently he served as the head of unit of the Interior Ministry at the Dutch Permanent Representation to the EU, including during the Netherlands EU presidency in 2016. His interests range from general international law to international and European human rights law to EU law, and more recently, populism. 

Franziska Brantner

  • Franziska Brantner has served as the member of parliament for her constituency in Heidelberg since 2013. Between 2017 and 2021, she served as spokesperson for the Green Party on European Affairs and was the caucus' parliamentary whip. In December 2021, she was named Parliamentary State Secretary for European affairs, trade policy, and digitization at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Prior to her mandate in the Deutscher Bundestag, Brantner was a member of the European Parliament. 

Moderator: Thu Nguyen

  • Thu Nguyen is Deputy Director of the Jacques Delors Centre. She leads the think tank’s work on institutional questions of EU policy. In her own work, she mainly focusses on EU institutional reform, rule of law, democracy and economic governance. 

In cooperation

Link to Livestream