Recovery of Europe, Budget of the Union: Integration, Law & Democracy

ended

The Next Generation EU (NGEU) Recovery Plan is the EU’s response to the devastating economic crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic and constitutes one of the most ground-breaking developments in European integration. DCU proposes to create REBUILD, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence to rigorously study this vitally important initiative. The objectives of REBUILD are 1) to create at DCU a focal point of high level experts with competence and knowledge of all aspects of EU studies relevant to NGEU; 2) to conduct in-depth research that will critically evaluate the functioning of NGEU with regard to three specific metrics – Governance, Values, and Resources; 3) to develop synergies through knowledge exchange between experts within REBUILD, across DCU and throughout transnational scholarly networks; and 4) to disseminate the acquired knowledge to the widest possible audience, including policymakers. REBUILD’s activities will entail conferences, seminar series, and multiplier events with EU institutions. These will all be publically accessible and feature high-level speakers. REBUILD, which builds on the interdisciplinary expertise of nine core legal scholars, political scientists and economists, will benefit other academics and students across DCU, including those not directly involved in EU studies, as well as the international scholarly community and public officials, civil servants, organised civil society and the general public. REBUILD is expected to produce as output cutting-edge analysis on NGEU in the form of blogs, podcasts, working papers, and books. Moreover, REBUILD will also produce a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) about NGEU which will be able to reach thousands of learners across the EU and beyond. As a unique forum for research, policy & engagement on the Recovery Plan, the expected outcome of REBUILD is the development of innovative scholarship on NGEU and the dissemination of relevant knowledge to decisionmakers across the EU and its Member States.