The European Union Center of Excellence (EUCE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has received a grant for €300,000 (ca. $450,000) from the European Commission in Brussels, renewing its funding through 2011. The renewal process was led by Jonathan Zeitlin, WAGE Director and co-founder of the EUCE, and Jeremi Suri, WAGE Senior Fellow and current EUCE Director.

"This renewal strengthens our university's position as a leading institution investigating the origins, contemporary manifestations, and future prospects of the European Union—and international society in general,"” says Suri.  "“The emergence of a strong, stable, and prosperous European Union at the end of the twentieth century is one of the most significant developments of our time. It will shape the next century in diverse and enduring ways."

With the renewal Wisconsin remains within a select group of only eleven U.S. universities which can claim the designation EU “Center of Excellence.” Faculty, graduate students, visiting scholars, the regional Midwestern media, the K-14 community and public policymakers will focus on a unique series of research projects on Europe from a trans-Atlantic perspective. Participation cuts across disciplinary lines, involving UW-Madison faculty ranging from Law, Journalism and Mass Communication, Engineering, Sociology and Medicine, who will research topics as diverse as energy security and product safety. The three core themes for 2008-2011 are “The EU as a Global Actor” led by Professor Jeremi Suri of History, “Transformations of European Law and Governance,” led by Assistant Professor Nils Ringe of Political Science, and “Exporting EU Governance, led by Zeitlin, Professor of Sociology, Public Affairs, Political Science, and History.“”