On May 15, 2024, the Center for European Integration Studies ZEI hosted the workshop “The ambivalence of progress in and outside the European Union – freedom and progress under the global conditions of our time”. In addition to stimulating discussions, the event also saw the farewell of ZEI Director Prof. Dr. Ludger Kühnhardt, who will retire on July 31, 2024.

In addition to a keynote by Prof. Kühnhardt and speeches by the ZEI co-founders Prof. Dr. Christian Koenig (Executive Director of ZEI) and Prof. Dr. Jürgen von Hagen (Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science), as well as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts Prof. Dr. Gernot Michael Müller, a video was shown with inspiring contributions from numerous ZEI cooperation partners and companions from all continents.

Afterwards there was a panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Michael Gehler (historian, University of Hildesheim), Bishop Dr. Franz-Josef Overbeck (Bishop of Essen), Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers (former Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia), Prof. Dr. Walter Schweidler (philosopher, Catholic University of Eichstätt) and Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans-Ulrich Seidt (retired ambassador, Federal Foreign Office), which was moderated by Michaela Kolster (program manager of “Phoenix”).

Finally, the Rector of the University of Bonn, Prof. Dr. Michael Hoch, would like to express his appreciation to Prof. Kühnhardt and thank him for his many years of work at the University of Bonn.

The evening was musically accompanied by the brilliant Bernd Lier Swing Ensemble, which has supported numerous ZEI events in the past.