Since 2013 the Centre is directed by Brigid Laffan. By then, the Centre had become a large hub of different programmes and projects, such as the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, the European Union Democracy Observatory, the Florence School of Regulation, the Global Governance Programme, and the Migration Policy Centre.
The Centre had also become the home of a number of highly competitive ERC projects; in 2014 for instance it hosted one starting ERC grant and four senior advanced grants. The Florence School of Banking and Finance was created in 2016 as well as the MEDirections Programme. Finally, the new European Governance and Politics Programme joined the Schuman family in 2018.
The Schuman Centre has four well-established fellowship programmes: the Jean Monnet Fellows, the Max Weber Fellows, the Robert Schuman Fellows, and the EU Fellows from the European Parliament, the Commission, and the External Action Service, intended to attract outstanding scholars and practitioners who wish to pursue their research interests and enrich the academic community. In addition, the Centre has also become an attractive environment for Marie Curie Fellows.
While academic conferences and workshops continue to regularly take place at the Robert Schuman Centre, high-level policy dialogue and executive training have also become main channels of engagement with practitioners. The dissemination of research output and an increased visibility of the different activities of the Centre also became a priority under Brigid Laffan’s direction. In 2018-19 the Robert Schuman Centre obtained several new EU-funded projects and reached a new record in terms of external funding.
The Schuman Centre started as a modest enterprise of five people and in 2019 it was home to almost 200 people between academic and administrative staff.
Jean Monnet Fellowship Programme @25 Alumni Conference, 22-23 June 2017
Since 1992, the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies has hosted a large number of scholars under the auspices of the Jean Monnet Fellowship Programme, which remains one of the EUI’s flagship programmes. The Alumni Conference was an opportunity to re-connect with our former fellows and to mark 25 years of the programme.
At this conference, held at the European University Institute in Florence, participants presented and discussed several papers about the European Union foreign policy, political crises and cleavages, migration, markets and money.
Information and Gallery

Papers and Presentations
- ' Trade Policy in a Changing EU and an Uncertain World', by Alasdair R. Young
- ' EU-China relationship in a new era of global climate governance', by Lei Lu and Tong Wu
- ' The Europeanization of Eastern Europe: the External Incentives Model Revisited' by Frank Schimmelfennig
- ' Cleavage theory meets Europe’s crises: Lipset,Rokkan, and the transnational cleavage', by Liesbet Hooghe & Gary Marks
- ' Democracy and (Dis)-integrationThe conditions for a legitimate and effective economic and political organization', by Simona Piattoni and Ton Notermans
- ' Personalization of Politics between Television, Internet (and the EUI)', by Diego Garzia
- ' The European Union in its new role as a climate spoiler: the bet on gas as the new bridge fuel and the power of the fossil fuel industry', by Susanne Peters
- ' The politics of an asymmetric Banking Union', by Lucia Quaglia
- ' The politics of an asymmetric Banking Union' (Presentation), by Lucia Quaglia
- ' The EU in its New Role as Climate Spoiler: The Bet on Gas as the New ''Bridge Fuel'' and the Contribution of the Fossil Fuel Industry', by Susanne Peters
- ' European Integration (Theory) in Times of Crisis, A comparison of the Euro and Schengen crises', by Frank Schimmelfennig
- ' Acrimonious Times in US Immigration Politics', by Roberto Dominguez
- ' Disintegration Dynamics during the Refugee Crisis: Partial Empowerment,Reluctant Agents, a Cacophony of Voices, and Unilateral Actions', by Eugénia Heldt
Videos
Yves Mény, Robert Schuman Centre former Director 1992 - 2006
Helen Wallace, Robert Schuman Centre former Director 2001 - 2006
Stefano Bartolini, Robert Schuman Centre former Director 2006 - 2013