ORIGINS:

ECSA is an international scientific network, which regroups 49 national associations of professors and researchers working in the field of European integration studies representing more than 7000 members.

National associations for the study of the European Union have existed in the Member States for many years. The first one, the “Commission pour l’etude des Communautes europeennes” (CEDECE), was set up in France in 1963. The second was the “Arbeitskreis fur Europaische Integration” (AEI), which was set up in Germany in 1964.

Similar associations now exist in all the Member States (except Luxembourg) and in 32 non-EU countries (in Japan since 1975, in China since 1984, in Korea since 1994 and in Poland and Hungary since 1989, etc.).

The associations of the member states were federated in 1987. The first meeting of the Presidents of the ECSAs throughout the world took place in 1992 at the occasion of the first ECSA World Conference.

OBJECTIVES:

ECSA has the following aims:

• to promote teaching and university research on European integration;

• to develop cooperation among its Members and, through them, the widest possible cooperation between universities throughout the world;

• to manage transnational programmes of research and technical assistance, organise conferences and stimulate networks of academic cooperation, make available its expertise in relation to curricula and programmes and carry out studies in the area of European integration;

• to disseminate information on university activities relating to teaching and research on European Integration through publications and by establishing, managing and contributing to an interactive communication network on the Internet.

ORGANISATION AND FUNCTION:

The Members of ECSA comprise university associations which are established all over the world with the purpose of developing teaching and university research on European integration and which have a legal personality or are constituted in accordance with the laws and practices of their country of origin.

The Association is controlled by the General Assembly, the Administrative Board and the Academic Council.

ACTIVITIES:

Interactive communication network on the Internet: ECSA provides its members with an important instrument for disseminating information between academics working in the domain of European integration. ECSA-NET contains information on its members (addresses, fax, telephone, E-mails), a regularly up-dated calendar of events on conferences, seminars and research groups, a “Who’s Who” listing the professors who are members of ECSA and who have published research work on European integration within the last few years, as well as interactive services aimed at promoting study and research in this field ( www.ecsanet.org)

“Who’s Who in European Integration Studies”: Directory of university professors and researchers specialised in the domain of European integration studies. It constitutes a useful working instrument in the identification of specialists working in the domain in 36 countries throughout the five continents.

“The European Union Review”: The Review represents a meeting point for scientific debate for the national ECSAs and an instrument which lends visibility to the research work, seminars and conferences organised by ECSA.

ECSA-World Conferences: Every two years ECSA organises a conference at a world level on different topical themes relating to European construction. The ECSA-World Conferences have always been a unique forum bringing together from all over the world professors and researchers specialised in the field of European integration. More than 300 academics have participated at each of these conferences which always concentrated on important topics of the EU Agenda: Peace, Security and Stability (2002), EU Enlargement (2000), the EURO (1998), the EU in a Changing World (1996), Federalism, Subsidiarity and Democracy (1994), EU studies (1992).

Assistance – Cooperation: ECSA supports and encourages the cooperation of national associations across cultural, linguistic and national borders through the organisation of trans-national conferences/seminars and research projects. For its members, ECSA also represents a privileged intermediary with the community institutions: it provides support for information and the preparation of budget proposals for submission to the European Commission.

Jean Monnet Project ECSA designates four members of the European University Council for the Jean Monnet Project – the academic body, which supports the Commission in the development of the Jean Monnet Project. The Jean Monnet Project “European Integration in University Studies” was launched in the member states of the European Union in 1990. It was extended in 2001 to include all the candidate countries currently applying for membership of the European Union and to include universities from throughout the world. The project’s specific aim is the enhancement of knowledge on European issues, through teaching, through reflection and debate, and through the influence of the activities of the European Centres of Excellence, the Jean Monnet professors and the national ECSA networks. The Jean Monnet network has also been enlarged through its links with the ECSA. In order to ensure the implementation of the project in each country the Jean Monnet Project functions in co-operation with the national ECSA’s. [List of the Bulgarian Jean Monnet lecturers]

ECSA-WORLD CONFERENCES:

In 2002 – “Peace, security and stability: International Dialogue and the Role of the EU”
In 2000 – “Enlarging the European Union”
In 1998 – “The EURO – Economic, Institutional and International Aspects”
In 1996 – “The European Union in a Changing World”
In 1994 – “Federalism, Subsidiarity and Democracy in the European Union”
In 1992 – “First ECSA-World Meeting”

ECSA PUBLICATIONS:

MULLER-GRAFF, Peter-Christian (ed.), East Central Europe and the European Union: From Europe Agreements to a Member Status,Baden-Baden, Nomos, 1997
MULLER-GRAFF, Peter-Christian and Andrzej STEPNIAK, Poland and the European Union – Between Association and Membership, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 1997
MADL, Ferenc, and MULLER-GRAFF, Peter-Christian (eds.), Hungary – From Europe Agreement to a Member Status in the European Union, Baden-Baden, Nomos, 1996
The European Union Review, Bari, Cacucci Editore, 1996
Federalism, Subsidiarity and Democracy in the European Union, Conference review and conclusion, 1994
The Legal, Economic and Administrative Adaptations of Central European Countries to the EC, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1993
MULLER-GRAFF, Peter-Christian (ed.), East-Central European States and the EC: Legal Adaptations to the Market Economy, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1993