The Centre for European Studies (CES) was established in October 2000 with support from the European Commission and Carleton University. In 2006 and 2009, the European Commission designated CES a European Union Centre of Excellence (EUCE), as well as the Network Coordinator for the EUCEs in Canada. The approach of CES is inter-disciplinary, involving a mandate of furthering research, teaching, and public outreach activities in the area of EU and European Studies at Carleton University and in the Ottawa area. The Centre is housed jointly in the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Department of Political Science and collaborates with these two teaching units, helping them to enhance their academic programs by funding visiting scholars from Europe and supporting EU-related courses offered by local instructors. CES also provides grants to graduate students and faculty in order to advance EU-related research. These initiatives also receive support from Carleton’s Faculty of Public Affairs, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International) and other university offices.
The Centre’s research and outreach activities centre around interdisciplinary European Research Nodes (ERNs), which bring together faculty and PhD students from Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, and Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario). The ERNS have an applied policy thrust and are organized around four themes:
ERN 1: The EU as Global Actor and EU-Canada Relations
ERN 2: Citizenship and Social Integration: Between National and Transnational Society
ERN 3: Innovation in Environmental Policy in Europe and Canada
ERN 4: The Political Economy of European Integration: Regional and Global Dimensions
Each ERN organizes public lectures and conferences, invites visiting scholars, holds research seminars, furthers cooperation with European partners, and generates scholarly publications.
The European Union Centre of Excellence (EUCE) was established at Dalhousie University in the fall of 2006 with a grant from the European Commission. The dual aim of the Dalhousie EU studies initiative, which began a few years ago, is to integrate existing research and teaching activities on the European Union at Dalhousie University and to establish a framework through which these and other activities related to the EU can be facilitated and promoted. The initiative is designated to build on and strengthen the foundational work that led to the creation of the BA Honours Program in European Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) in 2003-2006 and which has been supported by recruitment of internationally recognized scholars as Canada Research Chairs in European and EU Studies.
The EUCE is now housed in the European Studies Research Building on LeMarchant Street. This building was renovated with financial support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The building has office space for Canada Research Chairs, including the EUCE Director as well as the EUCE Administrative Secretary. There is also office space for graduate research assistants, PhD students and visiting scholars.
The EUCE plans for 2009-2012 include 12 research projects by individual faculty members covering various aspects of EU external policies and EU-Canada relations, developments in the EU, and comparative EU and Canada public policy issues.
The programme includes workshops, conferences and support for teaching. The latter category includes some support for the EU Study Tour and graduate student participation with papers at academic conferences. EU-related classes are offered in the Law, Economics and Political Science Departments, and several coordinated and interconnected series of visiting speakers have been aimed at fostering the maximum academic and wider public interest in EU matters.
The EUCE conducts annual research workshops. The following three have taken place: the EU Constitutional Treaty (Spring 2007), the EU in the Global Political and Economic System (Spring 2008) and the EU in a Comparative Perspective (Spring 2009). The 4th Annual Conference on The EU’s Lisbon Treaty: Negotiation, Ratification and Implementation will take place in June 2010.
The Université de Montréal-McGill University EU Centre of Excellence is an inter-disciplinary unit with the primary mandate of furthering research on the EU as well as of promoting teaching and public outreach activities on Europe in Montreal, Québec and more broadly in Canada.
Research
The Centre brings together scholars throughout Quebec interested in European studies. It is responsible for research projects and the organisation of new applications by teams of researchers. It provides grants to students and post-doctoral scholars and organizes scholarly seminars in order to advance EU-related research. Its research programme for 2009-2012 focuses on four themes: “The EU’s external relations and transatlantic affairs”; “Social Europe, governance and democracy”; “Immigration, diversity and multiculturalism”; “Institutional consolidation and the harmonisation of European private law in comparative perspective”. Research groups responsible for these four themes concentrate on fundamental research leading to publications of reports, articles and books. They also regularly hold colloquia and round table meetings. Visiting scholars are encouraged to speak in an EU lecture series at both universities.
Teaching and outreach
The Centre has the mandate of furthering teaching, training and public outreach activities among a broad range of stakeholders. It invites European professors to teach courses on Europe and its member states through regular semester offerings. Training and outreach activities to business and diplomatic communities are primarily conducted by the Chaire Jean-Monnet en Intégration européenne (UdeM), which was the first Jean-Monnet created outside Europe in 1993. Other training and outreach tools include: summer schools addressed to CEGEP (college) students and students participating in SPECQUE (EU Parliament simulation); two Universités d’été (one on Environmental issues and the other on Islam in Europe); the Presidency’s Series; large scale conferences; a website “Euroaffaires”, developed in partnership with the Ministère du Développement Economique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation of Québec; and an electronic bulletin, Quebec@Europe, written in collaboration with Québec’s Ministère des Relations Internationales.
University of Toronto:
Professor Jeffrey Kopstein, Director
Program Advisor: Edith S. Klein
Financial Officer: Jana Oldfield
University of Victoria:
Professor Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly, Director
Program Coordinator: Lise Bérubé
Two of Canada’s leading universities in the study of the European Union have joined together in partnership to form a new European Union Centre of Excellence, launching a three-year program of public outreach, educational, and research activities. These activities are designed to deepen the understanding of European integration in Canada both within and outside of the academy, and showcase EU-Canada relations. Our outreach, research, and teaching are focused on three broad areas: (1) The Financial Crisis, EMU, the Stability of Currencies, and the Financial System; (2) Immigration and Citizenship; and (3) EU Borders, Neighbourhood, and Foreign Policy. Each of these issue areas draws on an established network of scholars and the particular strengths of our institutions. The new consortium marks the merging of interests and expertise in central and western Canada for the first time under the umbrella of the European Union Centres of Excellence.
A series of international conferences and workshops on these themes will be mounted over the next three years. In addition to these activities, the consortium has planned a publication series, a film series, a program of visiting scholars from the European Union, and a number of policy workshops.
The University of Toronto/University of Victoria EUCE supports undergraduate and graduate students through its teaching programs, specialised summer schools, and academic exchanges with post-secondary educational institutions in Europe. The EUCE promotes knowledge and awareness of the European Union in the wider community through its public events and its annual workshops for secondary school students and teachers.
The European Union Centre of Excellence (EUCE) at York University was established in the Fall of 2009 with a grant from the European Commission in Brussels.
In recent years, York has been building its concentration in EU studies through a number of new European-focused faculty appointments across a variety of disciplines, including law, political science, business, public administration and humanities. In 2008, York received a Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration for Professor Willem Maas (Political Science and Public and International Affairs, Glendon College) and so the awarding of the EUCE can be seen as the next phase in the deepening of EU teaching and research at York.
The hub of much of this EU-related activity at York has been the Canadian Centre for German & European Studies (CCGES), whose affiliated faculty and staff form a natural constituency and administrative backbone for the activities planned by the new EUCE.
Between 2009 and 2012, the EUCE at York will facilitate research projects on a variety of topics related to EU affairs and Canada-EU relations as well as a number of outreach and networking activities intended to deepen understanding of such matters in both the general public and academe. In addition, the EUCE will work to strengthen the teaching of the European Union at York by developing a number of new course offerings and promoting the integration of relevant content into already existing courses in a variety of programs.