European University Institute

The European University Institute (EUI) was founded in 1972 by the member states of the European Community.

The EUI finds its origins in the advocacy for a European institute at the 1948 Hague Conference and the European Conference on Culture the following year in Lausanne. At the 1955 Messina Conference, when the members of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) gathered to assess that organisation's progress, the German secretary of state, Walter Hallstein, called for the establishment of a training centre for nuclear sciences.

The idea remained largely dormant until 1969 when European leaders^[who?] met in The Hague and resolved to fund a European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.^{[citation needed]} By this point the idea had evolved from a centre for nuclear sciences to one focused on the human sciences, promoting a cultural exchange between member states.

Plans were put into motion with conferences in Florence and Rome in 1970 and 1971, when it was decided that the institute would be reserved for post-graduate studies and not directly a Community institution.^{[citation needed]}

The six member states – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – signed a convention in 1972 establishing the EUI as a pillar for research and development. The EUI Convention entered into force in 1975, and the institute opened its doors to its first 70 researchers in 1976. Its mission, laid down in the 1970s, is to "foster the advancement of learning in fields which are of particular interest for the development of Europe".

Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined the European Community in 1973, and subsequently acceded to the convention establishing the EUI. In 1992, a new convention revising the 1972 convention establishing the EUI was signed by the then 12 Community member states. It entered into force in 2007 when the last contracting state ratified the convention.

EUI contracting states must be European Union member states. As of June 2025^[update], contracting states include all EU member states except Czech Republic, Hungary, and Lithuania.

The EUI is made up of four research departments in humanities and social sciences

• Department of History
• Department of Economics
• Department of Political and Social Sciences
• Department of Law

The Florence School of Transnational Governance (STG) was launched in 2017. Located in Palazzo Buontalenti, in the heart of Florence, the STG serves as a hub for exchange and collaboration, bringing together academia, civil society, policymakers, the business sector, NGOs, the media and other stakeholders.

The Institute also includes a centre for advanced studies in public policy research, the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies (RSCAS), named in honor of Robert Schuman.

The Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) was established following the 1983 decision of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the 1983 regulation by the Council of the European Communities to open their historical archives to the public.

A 1984 agreement between the Commission of the European Communities and the European University Institute located the Archives in Florence, at the EUI, and in 1986 the HAEU opened its doors to the public. It is the single, official archival repository of the institutions, bodies, and agencies of the European Union, and also holds more than 160 private archives of European personalities, politicians, movements, and associations that played an important role in European integration. It has been in its current seat, in Villa Salviati, since 2012. Users may consult the Archives' online database for descriptions of the documents, audiovisual materials, and artefacts in its deposits. Archival materials may be consulted in the HAEU reading room according to the thirty-years rule, or online where possible. The HAEU supports research on European integration through the administration of several grant programmes.

The EUI offers structured doctoral programmes in the field of economics, history and civilisation, law, and political and social sciences.

The EUI's Centre for Academic Literacies and Languages (CALL) provides language training in oral and written academic communication skills and facilitates social interaction in academic environments.

The State of the Union is an annual forum for high level reflection on the European Union organised by the EUI since 2011. The conference acts as a bridge between academia and policy making at the highest level in Europe, bringing together heads of state, EU representatives, academics, policy-makers, business and opinion leaders and civil society representatives to discuss and debate the key challenges and opportunities facing Europe and Europeans each year. Presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, as well as presidents of the European Commission and European Parliament have taken part in the event over the years.

The EUI is one of the leading social science research institutions in Europe, and with around 1,000 researchers^{[citation needed]}at various levels in their careers, it is also one of the largest graduate schools with around 90 international partners in research, exchange, and educational initiatives.

In 2024, the EUI was ranked 6th in the world in political science and among the first 100 in sociology, public administration, and economics on the Shanghai Ranking. It was also ranked 31st in the world for Politics and International Studies, 51st in the world for History, and 89th in the world for Law in the QS World University Rankings.

The EUI Political and Social Science department was ranked 1st in Europe and 5th worldwide in the Hix ranking of such departments (which was published in 2004 and covered the period 1998–2002). In November 2009, the same department was included in the Die Zeit 'CHE Excellence Ranking' for political science.

The European University Institute is seated in Fiesole on the Tuscan hillside overlooking Florence. The headquarters are at the Badia Fiesolana.

The campus is spread across 12 villas in the area, many of which date back to the Renaissance period and have been restored along with their landscaped gardens. The EUI campus also includes Palazzo Buontalenti in the historic centre of Florence at the Casino Mediceo di San Marco, which has been home to the STG since 2021.

The main governance bodies are the High Council (composed of the Member State delegates) and the Academic Council. The President of the Institute is Professor Patrizia Nanz, who is assisted in her duties by the Institute's Secretary General, Armando Barucco, and the Chief Operating Officer, Roberto Nocentini.

Corporate publications produced by the EUI include:

• EUI Activity Report
• Annual Directory of EUI Academic Publications

The EUI Research Repository contains the academic publications by the members of the EUI, with open-access, full text-versions of publications (working papers, books, contributions to books, e-Books, articles, and theses).