THE JEAN MONNET SCHEME
Under the Jean Monnet Scheme, the European Commission supports university initiatives aimed at creating teaching activities in European integration. Launched in 1990 at the specific request of the academic world, the Jean Monnet Scheme aims to promote teaching in European integration, in particular in Law, Economics, Political Science and History – the disciplines where European Union developments are becoming an increasingly important part of the subject studied and where student demand is at its greatest.
For the period 2014-2020 the Jean Monnet Scheme has been incorporated within the Erasmus+ Programme and it entails the following activities:
- Academic Modules, Chairs, Centres of Excellence in order to deepen teaching in European integration studies embodied in an official curriculum of a higher education institution, as well as to conduct, monitor and supervise research on EU content, also for other educational levels such as teacher training and compulsory education. These Actions are also intended to provide in-depth teaching on European integration matters for future professionals in fields which are in increasing demand on the labour market, and at the same time aim at encouraging, advising and mentoring the young generation of teachers and researchers in European integration subject areas;
- Policy debate with academic world, supported through:
- Networks to enhance cooperation between different universities throughout Europe and around the world, foster cooperation and create a high knowledge exchange platform with public actors and the Commission services on highly relevant EU subjects;
- Projects for innovation and cross-fertilisation and spread of EU content aimed to promote discussion, reflection on EU issues and to enhance knowledge about the EU and its processes;
- Support to associations, to organise and carry out statutory activities of associations dealing with EU studies and EU issues, and to publicize EU facts among a wider public enhancing active European citizenship.
The Jean Monnet Activities also provide operating grants to designated institutions which pursue an aim of European interest and organises Studies and conferences with the purpose of providing policy-makers with new insights and concrete suggestions.
THE JEAN MONNET CHAIR ON EU BUDGETARY GOVERNANCE AND AUDIT
The Jean Monnet Chair on EU Budgetary Governance and Audit is hosted at the Department of International and European Studies of the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was awarded in 2017, under the relevant Call for proposals, and a thorough and rigorous evaluation of over 1000 proposals submitted from all EU Member States.
The purpose of the Chair is to enhance the limited, so far, academic work, in terms of teaching and research, with regard to EU Budgetary Governance and Audit, by increasing the interest and deepening the knowledge in the field of studies related to EU (legal, economic, political), as well as, to address the University’s outward orientation by providing the general public and the specialised groups of stakeholders in the public and private sector, information and (when requested) specialised knowledge on issues regarding EU Budgetary Governance, as a means of interpretating the developments in the EU.
Understanding at least the fundamentals of EU Budgetary Governance allows for a new look on the benefits of European integration, a look based on academically verified evidence that will enhance the dialogue and the cooperation between the academia and the civil society.
The Jean Monnet Chair pages include the Jean Monnet Chair Database on EU Budgetary Governance and Audit, a collection of primary and secondary materials relating on EU Budgetary Governance and Audit, the Newsletter that provides information about the Chair’s activity, teaching materials in EU Budgetary Law, EU Regulatory and Budgetary Governance & National Choices, EU Legal and Budgetary Issues, EU Cohesion Policy and Principles of Public Administration and information about events such as Conferences and Lectures.