Expertise
European politics & institutions
My main expertise is in European affairs, particularly EU politics and institutions, as well as the dynamics between the EU and member states. Research areas include the EU’s institutional design; national and European elections; as well as the rule of law and civil society. I also have worked on EU-UK relations after Brexit and the EU’s relations with third countries, especially developing countries in the past years.
Franco-German relations & France and Germany’s positions towards the EU
I focus on Franco-German relations and the role of both countries in the European integration process. I also focus on the national perspectives on European policy in both countries. I regularly explain the other country in the national media (Germany in France and France in Germany), and comment and analyse on the politics and society of these countries in international media & for foreign audiences.
Democracy, rule of law & civil society
I started working in this field with a focus on democratic innovations, political participation and citizen representation. We established a network of democracy innovators across the world within the “Democracy Lab” of Das Progressive Zentrum, and launched a conference entitled “Innocracy” in 2015. I also worked to develop counter-strategies to right-wing populism right after the Brexit vote and Trump’s election in 2016. We closely followed the German government’s initiative for democracy promote (Demokratiefördergesetz).
In Brussels, I moved on from a national lens to focus on EU rule of law, corruption, media pluralism and civil society. I was in charge of a network of 40+ civil society organisations across Europe and provided EU expertise to and for them. I also worked on transnationalising think tank netwroks, and launched two side projects: For the 2021 German elections, we looked at the role of Germany in the EU after 16 years of Merkel government; and we launched a project to follow the Council Presidencies, in particular the German Presidency in 2020 and the French Presidency in 2022.
Last but not least, I also looked at social cohesion and solidarity mechanisms; through a fellowship with the Charlemagne Prize, researching EU solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic; and on civic cohesion, with a projectin cooperation with Sofia Platform and funded by CIVITATES.
EU sustainability policies
As a former consultant in energy policy and currently as Director of Studies for Europe Jacques Delors, I have focused on the EU’s Green Deal and its implementation, in particular in the following areas: greening the EUs trade agenda, EU agrifood policies, as well as ocean protection and governance, in addition to green diplomacy. The climate and democracy nexus, as well as the climate and social policy nexus are two dimensions that I am looking to explore further.
Contact
If you have requests for articles, interviews, keynotes or conferences, please do not hesitate to contact me at: pornschlegel@europejacquesdelors.eu
I am based in Brussels and prefer traveling by train to reduce my carbon footprint.
I share relevant dates & speaking engagements on LinkedIn.
