Commission celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Jean Monnet Activities promoting European studies worldwide

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

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Yesterday, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, is hosting a high-level event to celebrate 30 years of excellence in teaching and research about the EU. The Jean Monnet Activities are part of the Erasmus+ programme. They are dedicated to promoting excellence in European studies at higher education level around the world, as well as connecting academics, researchers and policy-makers. Between 1989 and 2019, the Jean Monnet Activities have supported more than 1,000 universities in around 100 countries, enabling them to offer courses on European studies as part of their curricula. 300,000 students now benefit each year. Commissioner Navracsics said: “We are celebrating 30 years of Jean Monnet Activities at a time when they are needed more than ever. They generate knowledge that strengthens the European Union and enhances understanding of European integration, particularly among young people. The next step is to extend these activities to schools. Learning about the European Union from an early age will help empower young people to become informed European citizens, engaged in the democratic processes that shape its future. The Jean Monnet Activities help to make the European project more tangible and resilient.” Every year, the Jean Monnet Activities finance more than 250 new measures, which involve around 9,000 university teachers and many other people and institutions. More than 5,000 actions have been supported so far. Since its launch in 1989, the initiative has enabled thousands of research publications in the field of European studies that cover a number of disciplines and policy fields including European law, the history of European integration, innovation, employment, defence, migration, healthcare, energy, transport and climate action. Much of this state-of-the-art knowledge has appeared in top-level journals and in policy-informing fora influencing the debate and supporting better policy-making at national and European level, thus making a difference to people’s lives and opportunities. Jean Monnet Activities have become truly global: in 2018, 60% of the 1,300 grant applications came from countries outside the European Union. The European Commission’s proposal for the future Erasmus Programme (2021-2027) envisages extending Jean Monnet Activities to other sectors of education, notably to schools, to enhance young people’s awareness of the European Union. Background Named after Jean Monnet (1888-1979), one of the founding fathers of the European Union, the Jean Monnet Activities are part of Erasmus+, the European programme supporting education, training, youth and sport. They are open to scholars from any officially recognised higher education institution in the world, which helps expand teaching and research related to the European Union to countries where knowledge of it is very limited. The recipients of Jean Monnet grants enjoy full academic freedom and are expected to produce independent and scientifically rigorous work. Jean Monnet Activities also support several designated institutions in Europe to pursue excellence in European studies and research. Today’s event in Brussels is part of the European Commission’s campaign to celebrate three decades of achievements by the Jean Monnet Activities. This campaign will last until the end of 2019, with hundreds of events and activities around the world where past and current beneficiaries of the Jean Monnet Activities are using the occasion of the 30^th anniversary to hold debates, conferences, workshops, and other activities for students, policy-makers and citizens.