Tax & Legal Excellence
10:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Conference
Programme
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Systemic Conflict
Thursday, November 26, 2026
The impact of global armed conflicts, tariff barriers, and policy shifts will be the focus of the 2026 Annual Conference. How can Germany and Europe remain capable of acting in a world of competing systems? Geopolitics, geoeconomics, and the systemic conflict between democracy and autocracy provide the framework for a debate on economic realities, legal leeway, and the future of open society—ranging from the West’s defense capabilities to Europe’s balance between Washington and Beijing.
10:15–10:20
Opening / Moderation
Economics and Law in the Context of Geopolitical Changes
RA/StB Oliver Holzinger
Managing Director
and Founder
Tax & Legal Excellence
10:20 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Interview
Europe in a Chaotic World: How Well Can the West Defend Itself?
Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala
Chair of Security and Defense Policy, University of the German Armed Forces, Munich
Prof. Dr. Stefan Fröhlich
Professor emeritus of International Politics and Political Economy, FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg and board member of the DAG e.V.
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Keynote speech
Germany's Economic Expansion Faces a Reality Check
Prof. Dr. Guntram Wolff
Solvay Brussels School of the Université libre de Bruxelles
11:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Keynote speech
China and the New World Order: Europe's Balance Between Dependence, Competition, and Security
Dr. Mikko Huotari
Director of MERICS
11:20 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Panel
Panel on Current Geopolitics
Moderation:
RA Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz
Partner at White & Case, Hamburg
Dr. Mikko Huotari
Director of MERICS
Dr. Patrick Keller
Otto Wolff, Co-Director and Head of the DGAP Center for Security & Defense
Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer
Präsidentin und Professor for European Governance and Geopolitics der Hertie School
Prof. Dr. Guntram Wolff
Solvay Brussels School of the Université libre de Bruxelles
12:30–1:30 p.m.
Break
- Coffee break
- Networking
1:30 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
Geoeconomics
1:30 p.m. - 1:55 p.m.
Keynote speech
Between Washington and Beijing: Europe's Economy in the New Trade Conflict
Prof. Dr. Moritz Schularick
President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy
1:55 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
Panel
Panel on Geoeconomics
Moderation:
Andreas Steck
Global Co-Head of the Banking Sector at Linklaters, Frankfurt am Main
Prof. Dr. Andreas Goldthau
Director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy
Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner
Managing Director of the Aspen Institute, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Moritz Schularick
President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy
Matthias Wachter
Co-Head of the Innovation, Safety, and Technologies Division, BDI
3:10 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Break
- Lunch break
- Networking
15:30 - 16:55
Systemic Conflict: Democracy vs. Autocracy
3:30 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.
Keynote speech
Is Democracy on the Defensive? The Open Society in the Age of Authoritarian Power Politics
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie
Director of the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic, and Integration Studies (CASSIS), University of Bonn
3:55 p.m.–4:55 p.m.
Panel
Panel on Systemic Conflict
Moderators:
Dr. Paul Voigt, Lic. en Derecho, CIPP/E
Partner at Taylor Wessing, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Ellen Bos
Center for Democracy Research, Andrássy University, Budapest
Prof. Dr. Karl-Rudolf Korte
Director Emeritus of the
NRW School of Governance
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie
Director of the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic, and Integration Studies (CASSIS), University of Bonn
Prof. Dr. Alexander Thiele
Business & Law School, Berlin
5:00 p.m.
Closing
RA/StB Oliver Holzinger
Managing Director
and Founder
Tax & Legal Excellence
Programme overview
-
10:15–10:20
Opening
Moderator -
10:20–10:45Interviewwith
Europe in a World of Disorder: How Capable Is the West of Defending Itself? -
10:45 - 11:00
KeynoteAddress
: Germany's Rearmament Put to the Test of Economic Reality -
11:00–11:20 a.m.
Keynote Address
China and the New World Order: Europe’s Balance Between Dependence, Competition, and Security -
11:20 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
PanelPanel on Current Geopolitics -
12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
: Networking Break