Global Europe Lab: Second Workshop
2026-01-19
The Global Europe Lab, involving Joachim Herz doctoral candidates Julia Matthäus and Katrin Müller, explores the future role of Europe on the global stage. Thirteen early-career researchers and practitioners from the fields of law, economics and politics have been brought together by the Joachim Herz Doctoral School and the Helmut Schmidt Foundation to collaborate on a policy paper, bringing together insights from science, practice, civil society and journalism. Further information on the project can be found here (link).
The second workshop of this project, which focused on the topic of 'Trade and Development', took place on 18 and 19 January 2026 at the Freie Universität Berlin's Korea Institute.
On the first day, participants received an introduction to writing policy papers, followed by an analysis of their initial drafts that the groups had prepared between the first and second workshops. Dr Sascha Lohmann led this session, sharing his knowledge and experience in this area. The day concluded with a talk by experts Mirco Günther (Friedrich Ebert Foundation) and Dr Elisabeth Winter(Helmut Schmidt Foundation) on the topic of 'China, the EU, Foreign Policy, International Trade and Geoeconomics', followed by more detailed discussions among the participants.
On the second day, Jacob Gunter from the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) opened with a presentation entitled ‘China and the EU in International Trade and Economy: Confrontational Cooperation?’, followed by a talk on 'China and the EU in Africa: Partner, Competitor, Systemic Rival?' by Meike Schulze and Dr Kennedy Manduna (University of South Africa).
We would like to thank the experts for their valuable contributions and the participants for their dedication. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the next workshop in March 2026.
