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 will mark the hand-over between the outgoing and incoming Henrik Enderlein fellow.
Europe confronts enormous challenges: managing the green transition, preserving social cohesion, maintaining its economic position in world trade, and adjusting to new geopolitical realities. The case for joint action, common solutions, and further European integration seems strong. But how would such a European Union look like? What needs to change to make it possible? How can Europe combine an agenda for a deeper Union with the commitment to enlargement? And what is Germany's role in all of that?
Our intention is to have a good debate on "The case for a stronger Europe: what needs to change in a deeper and wider Union?". Dr. Johannes Lindner will introduce with a short keynote speech. Besa Shahini, Anton Hofreiter and Cécile Boutelet, as moderator, will then join the discussion which will later be opened to the audience.
Programme:
- Welcome and Introduction: Prof. Cornelia Woll, President of the Hertie School
- Welcome and presentation new Enderlein Fellow: Dr. Almut Wieland-Karimi, Advisory Board member, Stiftung Mercator
- Lecture: Dr. Johannes Lindner, Co-director of the Jaques Delors Center, outgoing Henrik Enderlein Fellow
- Panel discussion and Q&A
Panellists:
Dr. Anton Hofreiter, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs
Besa Shahini, former Minister for Education, Youth, and Sports of Albania and new Henrik Enderlein Fellow
Dr. Johannes Lindner, Co-director of the Jacques Delors Center, outgoing Henrik Enderlein Fellow
Moderator:
Cecile Boutelet, Berlin-correspondent, Le Monde
Speakers
Johannes Lindner
Dr. Johannes Lindner is Co-Director of the Jacques Delors Centre and outgoing Henrik Enderlein Fellow. At the Jacques Delors Centre, he leads the Think Tank and works on EU economic and policy topics. From 2012-2022 he was Head of the EU Institutions and Fora Division, coordinating the relations of the ECB with EU institutions, in particular the Council and the European Parliament. Previously, he worked in several policy areas of the European Central Bank (since 2003) – including as Counsellor to one of the Executive Board Members and as Advisor in the area of Market Infrastructure and Payments.
Besa Shahini
Besa Shahini, the new 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).
Anton Hofreiter
Dr. Anton Hofreiter is a Member of the German Bundestag from Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, where he has represented the district München-Land since 2005. From October 2013 to December 2021, Hofreiter was co-chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group. Since December 2021, he has served as the Chairman of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union. Prior to joining the Bundestag, Hofreiter received a PhD in biology and was active in local and regional level politics in Bavaria.
Moderator: Cécile Boutelet
Cécile Boutelet has been Le Monde's economic correspondent in Germany since 2010. She covers economic policy and business and is based in Berlin. She also founded the German edition of lepetitjournal.com, an international news website for French people living abroad, for which she won the Franco-German Journalism Prize in 2009. Before moving to Berlin, she worked as a journalist in Rome. She holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Strasbourg.