Member of the German Council of Economic Experts
Since 2024, Veronika Grimm has been a professor at the Technical University of Nuremberg, where she heads the Energy Systems and Market Design Lab. Prior to this, she held positions at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Alicante and the University of Cologne, and undertook extended research stays at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Université Catholique de Louvain.
Veronika Grimm has been a member of the German Council of Economic Experts since 2020. She also serves on numerous committees and advisory boards, including the German Government’s National Hydrogen Council and the Expert Commission on Energy Transition Monitoring.
Photo: © Sachverständigenrat Wirtschaft
Wednesday, 23. September 2026, 18:30 – 20:00 h
At the University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zurich, KOH-B-10
The economic and security policy landscape in Germany and Europe has undergone fundamental changes in recent years. Geopolitical tensions, China’s rise, structural weaknesses in growth, and increasing demands on defense capabilities pose new challenges to both prosperity and the state’s ability to act. This talk will analyze the interplay between economic performance, fiscal sustainability, and security policy, and will explain why these policy areas must increasingly be considered together.
The focus is on the causes of Germany’s weak growth, the consequences of intensified international competition, and the challenges facing public finances. Building on this, the talk will discuss reform approaches that simultaneously promote growth, expand fiscal leeway, and strengthen Europe’s strategic capacity to act. Particular emphasis is placed on improving conditions for innovation and investment, reforming social security systems, implementing more efficient security and defense policies, and strengthening European and international cooperation. The lecture outlines a coherent reform package that collectively strengthens economic dynamism, resilience, and the capacity to act in the realm of security policy.