European Studies Institute at MGIMO-University

The main objective of the Institute is to assist in promoting partnership and cooperation between Russia and the EU through offering to civil servants and people from the business sector post-university training and retraining programs in EU and Russian law, politics, economics and all other aspects of bilateral relations. This aim set by the leadership of Russia and the EU was later incorporated in the Road map for the Common Space on Research, Education and Culture. The need for creating the ESI arose from the awareness that successful cooperation between Russia and the EU could be achieved only if carried out by professionals with in-depth knowledge of politics and business in Russia, the EU and its members.

Opening ceremony of the ESI, October 23, 2006

The sides wasted no time in setting up an educational establishment of the new type. The first pilot courses started in the late 2005 and early 2006. The autumn of 2006 saw the start of the first regular programme and the official opening of the Institute was held on the 23 of October that year. The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov, Special Representative of the President of Russia for the relations with the EU Sergey Yastrzhembsky and a Member of the European Commission responsible for external activities Benita Ferrero-Waldner. And already in 2007 the first 50 graduates of the ESI received Master degrees. A year later 81 officials graduated from the Institute, followed by another 86 in 2009 and around 100 in 2010. F or the academic year 2010-2011 126 students enrolled in the ESI. They were selected from more than 300 applicants, recommended by Russian ministries and agencies. Once the MGIMO-University new building has been commissioned the enrollment will increase to 150 people. The successful ESI applicants should have University degree, excellent command of the Russian language, knowledge of one of the EU working languages and by virtue of their position should be directly involved in the work of promoting effective cooperation and partnership between Russia and the EU.

The Institute is an example of the realization of a new forward-looking approach to cooperation between Russia and the EU based on equitability and mutually benefit. It is co-funded by Moscow and Brussels on a parity basis. The membership of the Governing Board, the body that guides the work of the ESI, is formed on the same parity principle, with an equal number of Russian and EU representatives from the public sector and academia.

The spirit of true partnership permeates the entire teaching process as the Institute employs top lecturers from renowned universities and research centres as well as people with proven expertise from Russia and the EU.

The Governing Board of the ESI in action

The ESI training and study activities include:

• Master Programmes in the EU law, economics, politics and policies;
• Short-term courses, including those in cooperation with the regional Universities and Russian Association of European Studies;
• Seminars and conferences;
• Publication of study literature, periodical volumes. The ESI releases the electronic magazine All Europe (www.alleuropa.ru or www.ru-eu.ru).

Master Programme in the EU Studies

The Master Programme is a post-graduate (re-)training programme for Russian and EU civil servants; representatives of public and private companies and NGOs; postgraduate students in European integration.

The academic standards, teaching materials and methods fully accord with those of the leading EU training centres such as College of Europe in Bruges, with which the ESI has established close cooperation.

The Ceremony of awarding Diplomas for Master Programme graduates

The duration of the Master Programme of the Institute is a year and a half (from September to December of the next year). Students, who demonstrate high academic performance, get an opportunity to participate in Summer courses or additional trainings in the EU Member States. Classes are held twice a week. The first three weeks of September are devoted to the language training exclusively. Interactive forms of learning , such as practical assignments, situational analysis, role and business games, etc are widely used.

Short-Term Courses

Given the needs of Ministries and Agencies and on the basis of requests from businesses the ESI provides short-term courses in European integration and European law. The Institute conducts educational seminars in the European Court of Justice (Luxemburg) for high-ranking Russian lawyers and judges, intensive study training on government support and anti-competition practices for the Federal Anti-Monopoly Agency officials. It also organizes courses on cooperation between police and judicial authorities and on the EU law in general, etc.

Conferences and seminars:

The ESI holds c onferences and seminars designed to promote exchange of experience and the establishment of networks in the following fields:

• Prospects for the development of the EU-Russia relations;
• Partnership for modernization;
• Harmonization of Russian legislation and the EU law;
• The new EU-Russia basic Agreement;
• Cooperation in the Common Space of Freedom, Security and Justice;
• Protection of Human Rights in Europe - common European standards;
• Prospects for building a EU-Russia common economic space;
• Protection of intellectual property rights in the EU and Russia;
• Environment and energy in the EU and Russia;
• Ensuring competition in Greater Europe;
• EU-Russia cooperation on the international arena;
• New security architecture in Europe: regimes, mechanisms, instruments.

The new building designed for the ESI

Publications:

The ESI regularly publishes materials of its conferences, study literature, textbooks, manuals and monographs. The Institute has published 7 issues of "The ESI Student's Library" collection in the series "Common Spaces between Russia and the EU: Law, Politics, Economy" and a monographic series "In Search for Partnership Relations: Russia and the European Union in 2004-2005, 2006-2008 and 2008-2009”. New issues of the electronic magazine “All Europe” are available monthly on the MGIMO-University and the ESI web-sites. Now the archive of the magazine comprises 47 issues. Readers of the magazine can also use the electronic archive of the magazine "Europe", which was published in the first half of the 2000s.

Development Prospects

In 2010 the first stage of the ESI history, which was the period of its creation and consolidation, is coming to end. Further improvement of the Institute activities is defined by the ESI Development Strategy for 2010-2013. It contains a detailed action programme for the next three years and beyond. The Strategy highlights the need to diversify educational services provided, attract students from the EU Member States and intensify networking with regional and global research and educational centres, specializing in European studies.

The Institute intends to put special emphasis on cooperation with European businesses and with this aim in view to establish a high-ranking Board of Trustees under the aegis of the highest Russian and EU leadership. The recent accession to the European Business Congress is an important step in this direction.

You can learn more about the ESI on our web-sites: http://www.eurocollege.ru and http://www.ru-eu.ru.

© Director of the ESI, Doctor of Law, Professor Mark L. Entin
with the assistance of Tatiana Entina