The process of European integration, which only seemed to know one direction since World War II, has stalled in the past years. Financial Crisis, Debt Crisis, Refugee Crisis and the Brexit have shown us the boundaries of the European project. Nationalists and populists throughout Europe are questioning the European integration with increasing success. What can the European Union set against the development? How can it prepare itself for the challenges of the 21st century? How can the project of integration be developed, so that it continues to ensure peace, security and prosperity for its Member States, whilst also living up to its responsibilities towards third states and the global community at large? How can Europe surmount its crisis of legitimation?

 

In order to pursue these and other questions in a systematic and profound manner, the Center for European Studies (CEuS) was founded at the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena in the summer of 2017. The Center deals with the process of European integration in a broad sense and contributes to the academic discourse about European issues with a variety of activities. The most important one is the CEuS Lecture Series. It brings top-level speakers from Germany, Europe and beyond to Jena and is dedicated to current and fundamental issues of European integration.