Wednesday 14 October 2026, 10:00
You are warmly invited to attend the closing & launch event of the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on "Less Rules, More Trust? Navigating Regulatory Simplification in the EU".
About the event
The European Commission is placing regulatory simplification high on its agenda. Making EU policies and laws simpler, clearer and better implemented is seen as essential to reducing administrative burdens, making it easier to do business and strengthening European competitiveness. At the same time, simplification raises important questions about the quality, legitimacy and trustworthiness of EU governance.
How can regulatory simplification contribute to a more competitive and effective European Union while maintaining trust among citizens, businesses and other stakeholders? Can simpler regulation strengthen trust in EU institutions and policies, or might efforts to reduce regulatory burdens come at the expense of transparency, accountability and regulatory certainty?
This event marks both the closing of the first phase of the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (2023-2026) and the launch of its new three-year programme (2026-2029). It brings together reflections on STRATEGO’s work to date with a forward-looking discussion on the relationship between regulatory simplification, competitiveness and trust in the EU.
The event will open with a welcome and a brief reflection on the achievements of STRATEGO’s first phase. This will be followed by a keynote lecture by Alberto Alemanno, which will set the stage for a panel discussion with academics and experts on trust, regulatory simplification and European competitiveness. The event will conclude with a Q&A and a few closing remarks, after which we are pleased to offer participants a sandwich lunch and an opportunity to continue the conversation and connect with fellow participants.
The event will take place in person in Antwerp, with a hybrid option available for international participants.
Please find the full programme and the practical details below.
Programme
10:00 - 10:15 | Welcome and introduction by Peter Bursens
- Peter Bursens is full professor of political science at the Departement of Political Science and member of the research group Politics and Public Governance (University of Antwerp). He is the coordinator of the STRATEGO Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. His research agenda focuses on European decision-making, Europeanization, federalism and democratic legitimacy of multi-level political systems.
10:15 - 11:00 | Keynote lecture by Alberto Alemanno - Title to be announced
- Alberto Alemanno is Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law and Policy at HEC Paris, as well as visiting professor at the College of Europe and the University of Tokyo, and currently Democracy Fellow at Harvard University. His research has been centred on how the law may be used to improve people’s lives, in particular through the adoption of power-shifting reforms countering social, health, economic, and political disparities of access within society.
11:00 - 12:00 | Panel discussion - "Less Rules, More Trust? Navigating Regulatory Simplification in the EU"
- Koen Verhoest, full research professor at the Politics & Public Governance research group and coordinator of the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence at the University of Antwerp.
- Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor at HEC Paris.
- Additional panelists to be announced
12:00 - 12:30 | Q&A and closing
12:30 - 13:30 | Sandwich lunch and networking
Practicalities
Date & time
- Wednesday, 14 October 2026, 10:00
- See programme details above for a detailed time schedule
Venue
- In person in Antwerp's city centre: location to be announced
- To facilitate participation from our international community, a hybrid option is also available.
Registration
- Registration is free but mandatory. As places are limited, registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Please register here before 8 October 2026.
Target audience
- Students, practitioners, and researchers interested in the EU, EU regulation, regulatory governance, trust in public governance, European policy, etc.