IDEAS 2026
New paths towards prosperity
in the European Union.
Rethinking Governance, Integration
and Collective Well-Being
27 - 29 May 2026 | Brussels, Belgium
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Session Overview |
| Date: Wednesday, 27/May/2026 | |||
| 12:30pm - 1:00pm |
Welcome Lunch - Day 1 |
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| 1:00pm - 2:30pm |
The European Union and today's democratic challenges Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Where is the Digital AI Omnibus going? On the importance of safeguarding social rights, equality and non-discrimination in the age of AI University of Ottawa, Canada Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Enhancing the social and political legitimacy of the EU via the European Pillar of Social Rights? The case of the work-life balance directive Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Does the European Pillar of Social Rights have real bite? An assessment in four EU countries Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium |
The EU budget: challenges and prospects Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Taxing Power for the European Budget? Fiscal Lessons from Switzerland to the EU LMU Munich, Germany Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget How EU money is spent: Mapping institutional features of spending governance Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Crisis-driven innovation in EU budgetary governance: The 2028–2034 Own Resources Decision and the new crisis mechanism Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Who cares about the budget? - Shifting institutional control in EU budget implementation European University Institute, Italy |
The evolving accountability and governance structures of the EU Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Does the EU’s agencification come to a halt? Institutional developments within and outside the Commission University of Salzburg, Austria Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Pluralism Reimagined: The ECB as a Case Study for Multi-Level European Governance SciencesPo Paris, France Topic 2: Environment and just transition Renewable energy communities: decentralisation and justice throughout the energy transition UC Louvain, Belgium Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Exploring options to strengthen the European multi-level governance framework for zero-emission energy-intensive industries Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) |
| 3:00pm - 4:30pm |
Greening the EU's economic costitution&finance Topic 2: Environment and just transition Polycentric Governance as de facto Fiscal Capacity: Engineering EU Economic Integration via Green Finance VUB, Belgium Topic 2: Environment and just transition Green Bonds or Green Chains? How Central banks in the Global South manage the green finance dilemma VUB, Belgium Topic 2: Environment and just transition The EU’s Interventionist Turn in Sustainable Finance: Public Issuers and the Making of the Green Bond Market 1: University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg; 2: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Where does the money go? Mapping core-periphery dynamics in the legal design of the ECB’s monetary toolkit Sciences Po, France |
The EU toolbox for sustainable prosperity : innovative or toothless? Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Beyond programmatic talk: measuring quality and quality of regulation for social, green and innovation goals in public procurement 1: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany; 2: Hebrew University, Israel Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights The Multilevel Implementation of the EU Just Transition Fund: Evidence from Southern Europe University of Padua, Italy |
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| 5:00pm - 6:30pm |
Keynote |
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| 6:30pm - 8:00pm |
Walking Dinner |
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| Date: Thursday, 28/May/2026 | ||
| 8:30am - 9:00am |
Welcome Desk - Day 2 |
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| 9:30am - 11:00am |
Economic and energy security as vectors of the EU's industrial agenda Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Optimising EU Trade Policy for Prosperity and Economic Security DCU, Ireland Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy The Role of Third Parties in the EU FDIs Multilevel Governance: From Information Provider to Procedural Actor Luiss, Italy Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Prosperity After Liberalisation: The EU’s Energy Dilemma Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Rethinking Competition in the Era of Decarbonization: The Role of State Aid Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano, Italy |
The future of fiscal and budgetary integration in Europe Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Supranational to sovereign? The institutional development of the European Commission’s borrowing capacity since 1990 University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Borrowing for autonomy: EU fiscal capacity beyond emergency 1: Mercatorum University, Rome; 2: Bocconi University, Milan |
| 11:30am - 1:00pm |
Conditionality, Coordination and Surveillance Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Safeguarding Fundamental Rights in EU Funding: Lessons Learned ahead of the Next Multiannual Financial Framework 1: Université libre de Bruxelles; 2: KU Leuven; 3: FWO - Research Foundation Flanders Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Environmental fiscal integration through conditional funding: a path beyond conferral? Tilburg University, Netherlands, The Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Can the protection of the European Union’s financial interests constitute a genuine force for integration, enabling Union law to bring about changes of constitutional significance to the integration project? université catholique de louvain la neuve, Belgium Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget The meaning and purpose of article 126 TFEU: a legal contribution to the multidisciplinary debates on EU economic governance Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands, The |
Governing Prosperity in the EU: Theoretical Perspectives and Insitutional Challanges Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Schmidt et al. (2025) The single market for services — why never-ending aspirations meet little progress University of Bremen, Germany Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget The capacity-building dilemma: managing competence-control tradeoffs in integration 1: University of Bremen; 2: Hertie School |
| 1:00pm - 2:00pm |
Lunch - Day 2 |
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| 2:00pm - 3:30pm |
Fiscal and budgetary integration in the EU Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget Unpacking the Galaxy: The evolution of EU budgetary capacity Hertie School, Germany Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget A Shield for "Europeanness"? The European Bonds Debate in the (Post-)Pandemic Era Finance Watch, Belgium Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget THE EU’S TRANSITION TOWARD A BUDGETARY UNION University of Bologna and University of Paris II Panthéon Assas, Italy Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget The Legal Boundaries of the EU’s Financial Support for Ukraine Dublin City University, Dublin |
Reconsidering the role of Growth in the European socio-economic governance Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights The law of growth and the protection of social rights in the EU Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Abstract IDEAS Conference Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Governing Growth in the European Union: Building the EU’s Economic Government through Experimentation European University Institute, Italy Topic 2: Environment and just transition Ideas of Growth: A Comparative Study of Political Parties’ Views on Economic and Sustainable Development 1: University of Birmingham, United Kingdom; 2: University of California, Berkeley |
| 4:00pm - 6:00pm |
Policy Panel |
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| 6:00pm - 8:00pm |
Reception |
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| Date: Friday, 29/May/2026 | |||
| 8:30am - 9:00am |
Welcome Desk - Day 3 |
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| 9:00am - 10:30am |
The EU as regulatory state in a global perspective Topic 2: Environment and just transition The operationalisation of the EU’s water regulation framework across four Member States: mapping and explaining shifting and fragmented institutional designs Université de Liège, Belgium Topic 2: Environment and just transition Between Green Ambitions and Strategic Interests: Unpacking Policy (In)Coherence in EU Mineral Value Chain Regulation Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium & University of Helsinki, Finland. Topic 2: Environment and just transition Reimagining the Economic Constitution of the EU: Resilience, Circularity, and the Pursuit of Sustainable Prosperity Utrecht University, the Netherlands Topic 2: Environment and just transition The Competitive Impact of Environmental Standards on European Companies – Economic and Ecological Integration Through the Lens of Globalisation Université de Pau et des pays de l’adore, France |
European Governance towards Shared Prosperity Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Failure or Resilience? Analysing cooperation patterns in European asylum governance 1: Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium; 2: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Social Convergence or Divergence? Assessing the Distributive Impact of the EU's New Socio-Economic Governance 1: University of Rijeka, Croatia; 2: Permanent Representation of the Republic of Croatia to the EU Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Economic Democracy and Economic Security in an Operational Framework for Policy-Makers: Promoting Eudaimonic Well-being in the Wellbeing Economy 1: Wuppertal Institut, Germany; 2: JXW Strategy & Operations; 3: University of Florence Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights The Role of Social Partners in the Revamped EU Socio-Economic Governance Architecture 1: Eurofound, Ireland; 2: Faculty of Political Science of Zagreb University, Croatia |
Reassessing the EU's legal instruments for sustainable prosperity Topic 2: Environment and just transition Legal Arguments Against Sufficiency Transformation: Is the Legal Architecture of the Common Agricultural Policy Really Incompatible with Sufficiency? University of Eastern Finland, Finland Topic 2: Environment and just transition New Paths to Environmental Sustainability: The ‘Do No Significant Harm’ as an Horizontal Principle in EU Governance University of Torino, Italy Topic 2: Environment and just transition How Human Rights Principles Improve the Protection of Environment in the Context of Just Transition? University Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Romania Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget European economic policy faced with the imperative of individual happiness. A Legal viewpoint on a political misunderstanding University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg |
| 11:00am - 12:30pm |
Decommodifying social life Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights The Political Economy of Housing in the European Union: Crisis and Governance Beyond EU Competence QMUL, United Kingdom Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights The Wealth Inequality of Real Estate: How Secondary Properties Undermine Pathways to Shared Prosperity in Europe 1: Antwerp University, Belgium; 2: L'Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" Topic 2: Environment and just transition From Fragmentation to Framework: Towards Food Citizenship in the European Union Central European University – Democracy Institute, Hungary Topic 2: Environment and just transition Prosperity Beyond Circularity: Degrowth and Pluriverse Urbanism for Europe’s Green Transition University of Turin, Italy |
Towards a genuine EU defence policy Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Rearming Europe: Domestic Governance Ecosystems and the Demand for European Defence Integration 1: University of Antwerp, Belgium; 2: Vrij Universiteit Brussel Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence THE EU’s MUTUAL DEFENCE CLAUSE: LEGAL AND STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS ON ARTICLE 42(7) TEU IN AN AGE OF RENEWED MILITARY THREATS Dublin City University, College of Europe Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy European state-building and integration compared: towards EU fiscal and military capacity development Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, France Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget The Next MFF and EU’s defense spending: Integrating “European Public Goods” into the Union’s budgetary architecture Bocconi University, Italy Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Strategic uncertainty as a stress test: Differentiated integration and democratic legitimacy in EU defence governance Youth policy center, Morocco |
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| 12:30pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch - Day 3 |
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| 1:30pm - 3:00pm |
Labour and skills in the EU Market and Polity Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Industrial Policy through Skills Governance: A Study of the Political Economy of the EU’s Union of Skills 1: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain; 2: University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Power Resources and the Politicisation of Unemployment during the ‘Golden Age’ of Social Europe Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Topic 4: Socio-economic governance and social rights Regulating grey zones: the EU’s traineeship directive and the limits of harmonization in labour law University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, The |
New pathways for EU industrial policy Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence Greening or Competing to Survive? International Pressures and Ideas in the EU’s Green Growth Strategy European University Institute, Italy Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence The New EU Industrial Policy: Evolving Governance Between Innovations and Constraints Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Topic 3: Industrial policy, competitiveness and defence The Politics and Practices of Joint Procurement in the European Union University of Bremen, Germany Topic 1 : Fiscal integration and the EU budget European Financial Integration through Joint Procurement: Potential and Legal Challenges European University Institute, Italy |
The European Union and today's democratic challenges Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy International election observation and European democracy Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Rebalancing Voices: Making Digital Participation Travel Across Europe’s Governance Stack Brussels School of Governance, Belgium Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy Connecting citizens and the EU: How subnational mobilization shapes perceptions of democratic legitimacy Radboud University / The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands, The Topic 5: European multi-level governance and democracy The Governance of Truth in the Green Transition: Climate Disinformation, Greenwashing, and the Need for a New EU Framework to Safeguard Democratic Participation and Collective Prosperity. N/A, Belgium |
