Annual Report 2010

2010 was a very important year for UNU-CRIS. In total 13 books and special issues have been published as well as 23 journal articles and 45 book chapters. Subsequent events and publications show a growing collaboration with Chinese and South African institutions, and testify a growing interaction between UNU-CRIS and top academics from all over the world.

In 2010, the GARNET project was successfully concluded and positively evaluated by the European Commission. Especially the contribution of UNU-CRIS to World Package 3 “Database and Indicators” was highlighted as follows: “The regional integration processes database is innovative and important, and thanks to the creation of the RIKS platform, which is a very ambitious and sophisticated tool, it is more effectively disseminated”. Furthermore, the multidisciplinary GARNET Conference ‘The European Union in International Affairs’, held in April 2010, provided a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas among the growing number of scholars that take an interest in understanding the interface of EU and international politics and law. It was open to all relevant disciplines and sub-disciplines, including (international) law, international political economy, economics and history. The Conference broadly covered all aspects relevant to understanding the EU in international affairs, including implications for and effects of the structure of the global order, in order to allow for active participation by as many scholars as possible working on relevant subjects. The event was organized by the Institute for European Studies - Vrije Universiteit Brussel (IES-VUB), Egmont, UNU-CRIS, and the Institut d'Etudes Européennes - Université Libre de Bruxelles (IEE-ULB).

Regarding institutional developments, efforts to set up a twinning with Tsinghua University in Beijng were made and are continuing. An important step was the official launch of the newly established Tsinghua Institute of Comparative Regional Integration Studies (Tsinghua-CRIS) in January. Regarding the establishment of postgraduate training events, a Proof of Concept has been submitted with regard to the establishment of a Master of Arts in Comparative Regional Integration, and negotiations are being established with Flemish Universities in relation to the creation of joint PhD Programmes.

Luk Van Langenhove
Director of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies