08.12.2023: Celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ECRF
The European Centre for Research on Federalism (ECRF) was founded 30 years ago by Prof. Dr. em. Rudolf Hrbek as an interfaculty centre at the University of Tübingen, in which political science, law and geography are involved.
On the occasion of this year's anniversary, the ECRF and the Institute of Political Science (IfP) hosted the Annual Lecture and the celebration "30 Years of ECRF". As part of the ceremony, the commemorative publication "European Union as a Process" was presented to Prof. Dr. Hrbek on the occasion of his 85th birthday and in recognition of his services to European and federalism research.
The ceremony took place on Friday, 8 December 2023, 4-6 p.m. c.t. (Großer Senat in the Neue Aula, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, 72074 Tübingen) with a review and outlook on 30 years of ECRF by Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels, Spokesperson of the ECRF Executive Board, and a keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Ursula Münch, Director of the Academy for Political Education, Tutzing, on the topic "When German speed meets federalism. Future perspectives of the German federal state".
22.11.2023: Presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2023
The event took place on Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 5 p.m. (the presentation began at 6 p.m.) at the Landesvertretung Baden-Württemberg, Tiergartenstraße 15, 10785 Berlin.
The topic "German civil protection between noble aspirations and federal reality" was discussed by Leon Eckert MdB and Dr. Anna-Lena Hollo, University of Hannover, under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels.
01./02.12.2022: Conference "How much federalism can a pandemic take? Dealing with the coronavirus and its consequences"
Federalism has come under pressure in the Covid 19 pandemic. Everywhere, the "patchwork" of regulation in dealing with the pandemic was criticised. What was allowed in one federal state was forbidden in another. At the same time, the federal states certainly switched back and forth between "Team Vorsicht" (Team Caution) and "Team Freiheit" (Team Freedom). The abbreviation MPK was previously familiar only to insiders, but since then it has become the talk of the town. For the eye was always fixed on the conferences of the Minister Presidents with the then Chancellor. It is not the first time that the structures of German federalism have come under criticism in times of crisis. The need for reforms to improve the federal state's ability to act was also discussed during security policy crises (for example, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks). In the Covid 19 pandemic, personal concern about state regulation was clearly felt, not least in view of the unprecedented depth of encroachment on citizens' civil liberties. Against the backdrop of the debates, the question arises as to the capacity to act and the need for reform of federalism in crises, specifically in the pandemic. How can the handling of the coronavirus and its consequences be explained? How efficient were the federal structures in Germany - not least in comparison with other states? Are unitary systems more capable of acting in crises? Are democratic states possibly even too slow in their decision-making processes in crises? What need is there for reform of German federalism and how can it be implemented?
These questions were discussed at a multidisciplinary symposium organised by the ECRF and the Akademie für Politische Bildung (Scholarship - Education - Public Services) in Tutzing. You can find the program here.
16.11.2022: Presentation of the Yearbook of Federalism 2022
On 16 November 2022, the ECRF, together with the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the Federation in Berlin, presented the Yearbook of Federalism 2022 - after a two-year break due to the pandemic, finally again in the context of a live event.
The presentation began with a welcome to the guests by the Head of Service of the Representation, Mr. Andreas Schulze, and a greeting from Ms. Muhterem Aras, President of the State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg, who had connected virtually from Stuttgart for the event. After she presented the range of topics of this year's Yearbook and gave a basic introduction to one of the main topics - the "Conference on the Future of Europe" - Prof. Dr. Gabriele Abels, Spokesperson of the Executive Board of the ECRF, discussed with Ms. Aras and Dr. Mark Speich, State Secretary for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Representative of the State to the Federation, about their experiences from the conference, in which they had actively participated as part of the delegation of the European Committee of the Regions. The discussion also addressed the question of how to ensure a stronger involvement of citizens and regions in political processes at the European level and what the concrete follow-up should look like. Both discussants saw the Member States and the Council as being primarily responsible for this. The audience also participated actively in the discussion with questions and comments.
The ECRF would like to thank Ms. Aras and Dr. Speich for the excellent hybrid discussion, all participants and especially the Representation of Baden-Württemberg to the Federation for the successful event.
06.10.2022: Workshop "Subnational Foreign Relations: The Asian Policy of Selected Countries in Germany and Austria"
This was a cooperation between the International Relations Department of Webster Vienna Private University (WVPU) and the Institute for Political Science (IfP) and the European Center for Research on Federalism (ECRF) of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. The programme of the workshop can be found here.
For a conference report see "Von Mitspielenden zu Gestaltenden? Herausforderungen für Regionen im dynamischen Mehrebenensystem der Europäischen Union. Tagungsbericht, Mirjam Zillober, in: Jahrbuch des Föderalismus 2021, pp. 471–475".
20./21.06.2013: Conference "Future questions of federalism"
Joint conference with State Representation of Baden-Württemberg in Berlin with the support of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) as part of the "Meetings of the Friends of Federalism".
