Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI)
The Center for European Integration Studies is a transdisciplinary research and post-graduate education institute of the Rheinischen-Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn. Founded in 1995 under the Bonn-Berlin Law and a decision of the University Senate, ZEI provides future oriented research on unresolved questions of European integration and the global role of Europe. ZEI’s academic focus on “Governance and Regulation in the EU” bridges academia and practice, linking research with innovative knowledge transfer.
Mission Statement
ZEI’s research and teaching emphasis on “Governance and Regulation in the EU” brings together two aspects whose critical interplay shapes the EU, its impact on citizens’ lives and its role globally. Transdisciplinary perspectives on the important relationship between governance and regulation offer greater insight and clarity into the increasingly complex process of European integration.
Governance encompasses a broad assortment of factors involved in the process of governing; how decisions, rules and norms are made and how external actors attempt to influence the process of governing. In comparison, regulation is more tangible and prescribes official methods and standards. Regulation is generated for public interest yet as it profoundly affects citizens, it must be legitimate. Governance gives legitimacy to regulation and regulation is necessary to ensure the functioning of the internal market of the European Union and the larger project of European integration. Regulation is a necessary and important feature of the complex process of governing in the EU.
This dynamic interplay between governance and regulation in the EU serves as the touch stone for research, teaching and consulting work conducted at ZEI.
ZEI Institute
The ZEI Directors conduct research, provide political and legal consulting, and offer further education training. ZEI researchers regularly publish monographs, articles in peer reviewed journals, newspaper articles, and contribute to their own publication series. ZEI coordinates and participates in research projects, hosts visiting researchers, holds discussions and dialogues and offers mid-career training programs.
Master of European Studies
From 1998 to 2023 ZEI offered postgraduate students the opportunity to study the one year “Master in European Studies – Governance and Regulation”. Lecturers from all over Europe presented students with diverse methods and perspectives on politics, law and economics of the European Union. Practical experts and excursions to the decision-making centres of European politics added to the international atmosphere at ZEI in Bonn. The Master ended in 2023.
1995
Founding Year
650+
Graduates
700+
Research Projects
![ZEI Mitarbeiter](https://www.zei.uni-bonn.de/de/ueber-zei/medien/mitarbeiter_kl-1.jpg/@@images/image/leadimagesize)
ZEI Staff
ZEI has over 25 employees. In addition, the Center for European Integration has 9 Research Fellows and over 40 Senior Fellows.
![Bibliothek](https://www.zei.uni-bonn.de/de/ueber-zei/medien/pic_bib_kl.jpg/@@images/image/leadimagesize)
ZEI Library
One of the largest specialized libraries on European integration which serves ZEI researchers, Master students and visiting scholars.
![Anfahrt](https://www.zei.uni-bonn.de/de/ueber-zei/medien/pic_anfahrt_kl.jpg/@@images/image/leadimagesize)
How to find us
The ZEI is located at Genscherallee 3 in a modern office complex in the immediate vicinity of the Bonn art museums (Bonner Museum Mile) and can easily be reached by public transport.