He is specializing in defense economics, European rearmament, geoeconomics, European Union governance, and euro-area fiscal policy.
His career in economic research and policy formulation includes serving as Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (2022–2024) and Director of Bruegel (2013–2022). He previously worked on macroeconomics and governance at the European Commission, served in the research department of the Deutsche Bundesbank, acted as an external advisor to the International Monetary Fund, and served on the French Prime Minister’s Conseil d’Analyse Économique (2012–2016).
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Bonn and serves as Professor of Economics at the Université libre de Bruxelles alongside research fellowships across leading European economic institutes.