The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance hosted a scientific meeting and reception for the 2020 and 2021 Fondation Pierre Werner Scholarship recipients on 20 October, 2021. The event, which brought together the eight laureates and their PhD supervisors as well as representatives from FDEF, the Fondation Pierre Werner, the Fondation de Luxembourg and Pierre Werner’s family, was held in-person at the Weicker Building under the Covidcheck regime.

Prof. Katalin Ligeti, Dean of the Faculty, opened the ceremony by welcoming the guests and congratulating the laureates. Prof. Ligeti reminded attendees that the scholarship winners are chosen based on their academic performance, the originality and the potential of their work, as well as the relevance and importance of this work in promoting the ideals of former Luxembourg Prime Minister and architect of European economic and monetary integration, Pierre Werner. Mr. Luc Frieden, President of the Management Committee of the Fondation Pierre Werner, also addressed the attendees, reminding all of Pierre Werner’s vision of a unified Europe and praising the scholars for their excellent research contributions.

After viewing a short documentary about the life and work of Prime Minister Pierre Werner produced in part by Research Scientist Elena Danescu from the University of Luxembourg’s Center for Contemporary and Digital History, each laureate then gave a short presentation describing their thesis. 

2020 Laureates and thesis topics 

Although the 2020 winners had already been announced in July 2020, the COVID situation had prevented them from official presenting their work and receiving their awards.

• Rana Cömertpay (Belgium, Turkey), with the subject “Essays on the Economics of Migration and Forced Displacement.”
• Bastian Krieger (Germany), with the subject “Essays in Economics of Innovation.” 
• Roila Mavrouli (Greece), with the subject “La controverse constitutionnelle grecque sur l’article 120 § 4 en période de crise. Étude de la compétence controversée du peuple en tant qu’organe de l’Etat.” 
• Igor Tkalec (Croatia), with the subject “External drivers and internal outcomes: the effect of European Semester on adequate pensions in the euro area.”

2021 Laureates and thesis topics 

• Pier Mario Lupinu (Italy) with the subject “Legal constraints to the provision of liquidity post-resolution in the euro area: a critical analysis.”
• Silvia Peracchi (Italy) with the subject “Essays on the Economics of International Migration.”
  Branimir Stanimirov (Bulgaria) with the subject “Stalled Democracy: Europeanization, Democratic Backsliding and the Rule of Law in the EU’s Multi-Level System. The Case of Bulgaria’s Judicial Reforms (2001-2021)”
• Moritz Rehm (Germany) with the subject “Half a century of crises: the development of EU financial assistance in the past and present.”

The year 2021 marks the fifth anniversary of the partnership between the Fondation Pierre Werner, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg. Two 2017 scholarship alumni, Dr. Dimitrios Kafteranis and Dr. Olivier Voordeckers sent a video message thanking the foundation for the opportunity and giving an update on their current projects. The evening concluded with a cocktail and walking dinner which allowed scholarship recipients to exchange with the foundation representatives. 

About the scholarship

Inspired by the ideals of Pierre Werner, the Pierre Werner Scholarship fosters European integration. The Fondation Pierre Werner, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg, awards an annual scholarship to outstanding postgraduate students from European countries, with the exception of Luxembourg, in the fields of law, economics, finance and political sciences at the University of Luxembourg. For more information, visit the scholarship webpage.

About the Fondation Pierre Werner, under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg

In view of perpetuating the ideals and achievements of Pierre Werner, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, the foundation supports research projects, studies, and conferences related to the European unification, monetary issues, democracy or human rights, in any country of the European continent. Learn more about the foundation’s past and present projects, visit the webpage.