EmergEU

The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Crises and Emergencies in EU Integration (EmergEU) is devoted to a common interdisciplinary research agenda and embedded within the existing interdisciplinary Centre for European Research in Maastricht (CERiM).

Acknowledgements

This project is part of the Erasmus+ programme.

The project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

The project is also financially supported by Studio Europa.

What is EmergEU?

Background

Throughout its history, the EU has been increasingly faced with crises and emergencies that have threatened its core values and required extraordinary responses, significantly affecting the EU’s institutional structures and policy-making. These challenges have touched upon a variety of areas and sectors, affecting, for example, the EU’s economic, migration, energy, and health policies.

Framework

EmergEU explores how the EU has responded to past crises and emergencies and assesses potential legal and policy changes to enhance the EU’s resilience. In doing so, EmergEU leverages the well-established CERiM network, which brings together lawyers, political scientists, social scientists, economists, and historians.

Aims

EmergEU pursues the following objectives:

conducting cutting-edge research and analysing crises and emergencies from an interdisciplinary perspective to achieve measurable and comparable results;
conceptualising EU crisis and emergency action by assessing institutional challenges and identifying areas in need of reform;
creating an inventory of the EU's toolbox for addressing crises and emergencies across different policy areas;
drawing conclusions on how existing mechanisms should be reformed or adapted within the current legal and institutional framework;
engaging with policymakers and the public to share research findings and insights.

Events, workshops and lectures

Jean Monnet Lecture by EmergEU

23 Apr

Planned events, workshops and lectures will appear here. Keep an eye on this webpage to stay up to date on upcoming activities.

Past events and teaching activities

Name of the event	By	Date
EU emergency law and its transformative effect on the EU legal order	Emanuele Rebasti	27 January 2026
The evolution and challenges concerning the Common Foreign and Security Policy	Lóránt Havas	27 May 2025
The role of conversations and camaraderie in countering societal and political breakdown	Hakan Altinay	13 May 2025
Defending our way of life. Why European political values matter in times of geopolitical upheaval	Rein Dekkers	7 April 2025
An agile and responsive EU: Strategies for a resilient future	Robert de Groot	27 March 2025
Emergency politics, democracy, and constitutionalism in Europe	Christian Kreuder-Sonnen	5 February 2025
A Union of Crisis: EU Action in Times of Emergency	Andrea Ott and Guido Bellenghi	7 September 2024

Research

The research of EmergEU is divided into three main themes. Within these themes, three workshops will be organised, along with additional teaching and research activities, including Jean Monnet lectures and guest lectures. The three main themes are:

Framing of the terms, conceptual background and institutional challenges.
Case studies on internal crises and emergencies, including challenges relating to: (1) health crises and internal market challenges in cross-border regions; (2) the Economic and Monetary Union; and (3) the rule of law.
Case studies on external crises and emergencies, including challenges relating to: (1) the EU environmental and energy security policies; (2) the EU migration and asylum policy; and (3) the EU as a global crisis actor.