Spotlight

Photo: CC Nick Fewings, Source: Unsplash

At our Spotlight event, leading Franco-German figures are given the opportunity to discuss their work in a compact and in-depth format. With German personalities coming to Paris and French personalities coming to Berlin, the Spotlight series provides a high-level forum for Franco-German exchange.

This year, our Spotlight event series began with a discussion with Jörg Kukies, Secretary of State at the German Federal Chancellery, at Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs. Our next Spotlight event will be taking place with Garance Pineau, Europe Advisor to President Macron, on 20 October 2023 in the Hertie School in Berlin (Friedrichstraße 180) and online. We will speak about France’s priorities in European policy moving forward. Registration will open soon – stay tuned!

Spotlight 1: France and Germany: Building Coalitions in Europe and the World with Jörg Kukies

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to tectonic shifts in international relations. On 9 March 2023, Jörg Kukies, Secretary of State at the German Federal Chancellery discussed the effort to tackle the challenges raised or intensified by this war of aggression with us. The event was hosted by Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs, with moderation by Arancha González Laya, Dean of Sciences Po PSIA and introduction by Johannes Lindner, Director of the Jacques Delors Centre.

Jörg Kukies is the personal representative of Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the G7/G20 summits. He is one of the Chancellor’s closest advisors and is coordinating three policy fields at the Federal Chancellery: European policy, G7/G20 summits, as well as economic, financial and climate protection policy.

During the event, Kukies spoke on Franco-German relations at the 60^th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, cooperation on energy procurement, and strategic defense and military cooperation following the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that France and Germany have had many opportunities for successful cooperation in the last few months and that this cooperation has been crucial to creating European-level policy in a variety of fields.

You can rewatch the entire discussion here: