The project aims to boost the research and teaching in the field of EU studies at the “Paisii Hilendarski” University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. More specifically the project aims to strengthen the Plovdiv University capacity to teach and study the hidden integration/fragmentation processes in the constitution of Europe (www.makingeurope.eu). This will be achieved by building competence and knowledge, as well as teaching excellence and research capacity, on three specific areas of EU studies – 1) science, technology and innovation; 2) rule of law and democracy; 3) social policy. We believe that in the current efforts in standing up and further developing the European Union the integration/fragmentation mechanisms in these three areas are among the most important pillars of the European community and, at the same time, its drivers for social prosperity and the economic change.
By creating a Jean Monnet Center project we strive to expand our teaching and research opportunities precisely on the three deeper processes of European integration: 1) research and technology transfer in Europe, and building common infrastructures, industry standards and rules; 2) the reception of the high standards and principles of European law into national laws as part of the process of modernization and the establishment of normative, political, and social institutions of power; 3) the creation and development of the welfare state model in Europe, its evolution and challenges, with a focus on social policy and practice in relation to young people and vulnerable social groups.
