Research Areas

The main areas of interest to the Institute have gradually developed over fifty years in order to follow the successes and shortcomings of European integration. The results of research are generally published in book form or in specialized journals.

The internal market and the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital as well as a number of important common policies (especially in the fields of agriculture, transport, energy and the environment) have constantly been at the core of the research work carried out by professors and students alike.

The presence of numerous foreign students, especially those coming from candidate countries, has given momentum to research in the ever expanding sphere of the external relations of the EU and, more recently, in the development and implementation of the common foreign policy with special regard to security and defence. The manifold implications of the ongoing enlargement negotiations have been dealt with in national and international seminars organized by the Institute on the future shape of the EU. The reform of EU institutions and decision-making process with a view to achieving greater transparency and efficiency will represent another priority area for the foreseeable future.

The institutional mechanisms and the activities of regional integration organizations in other continents, and especially in the Asia-Pacific region, have also been the object of sustained interest on the part of the Institute's researchers.

Conferences and Round Tables

In the course of half a century of activity, the Institute has organized, often in cooperation with other Italian and foreign institutions, in Italy and abroad, many events of a scientific nature dealing with a wide variety of subjects.

During the cold-war era, the Institute carried out several initiatives with eastern European institutions and centers concerning topical economic and security issues that were discussed in a frank, open and non-confrontational way. Contributions presented at the various meetings have generally been published in the form of books or occasional papers.

Besides its traditional links with other bodies in Europe, the Institute has been developing since the mid-1980s various forms of partnership with universities and research institutions outside the European continent, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, joint international conferences have been held in cooperation with research institutes and universities in a number of countries, especially China, Japan and Singapore.

Publications

The Institute has published during several years a yearbook entitled Annali containing original studies and research by the Institute's faculty and students and providing information about the Institute's activities.

The Institute has also published, in Italian and/or English, monographs of a historical, legal and economic character as well as collections of the proceedings of seminars held under its auspices.