1.      History and Major Objectives

In early 1990s, in the years following the end of the Cold War, the movement to promote European integration accelerated, leading to the creation of the European Union and a series of successive enlargements. Recognizing the growing importance of the European project, in August 1991, the Institute of American Studies was renamed the Institute of European and American Studies (IEAS) in order to promote the further development of the European Studies component of our research. In June 1998, the IEAS established the EU Study Program, principally aimed at deepening the knowledge of political, legal, social, and economic developments at work in the process of European integration. Dr. Y. H. Song was nominated to serve as the first coordinator of this program, followed by K. C. Wang (1999.7 - 2000.6), W.F. Huang (2000.7 – 2002.6), D.C. Horng (2002.7 – 2004.6), Y.Y. Wang (2004.7 - 2006.6), H.D. Su (2006.7 - 2008.6), Y.Y. Wang (2008.7 - 2009.6), W.F. Huang(2009.7-2011.6), D. C. Horng (2011.7 - 2013.6), C. H. Wu (2013.7 - 2015.6), C. Y. Lu (2015.7 - 2017.6), C. H. Ho(2017.7~present).

2.      Research Highlights

In years past, this program has concentrated on the following subjects: 1) EU integration theory; 2) EU constitutionalism and policy development; and 3) EU foreign relations and relations with Taiwan and China. Every year, a domestic conference on EU Studies is held, to which Chinese-speaking scholars from inside and outside of Academia Sinica are invited. Every two or three years, an international conference is organized, which constitutes an important platform for exchanges between Chinese-speaking scholars and their European and American colleagues in EU Studies. After each conference, all the conference papers are submitted to domestic or international academic journals, or edited for publication. 
    In order to promote international exchanges, the IEAS has participated in the following associations as a member, or associate member where full membership is limited to faculties located within Europe: the EUSA (European Union Study Association) in the US, the UACES (University Association for Contemporary European Studies), the ECPR (European Consortium for Political Research) and the EpsNet (European Political Science Network) in Europe. The IEAS is now applying for full membership in the ESiA (European Studies in Asia) and the NESCA (Network of European Studies Centres in Asia)—associations holding international conferences at which our colleagues are already active participants. We frequently invite notable scholars from Europe or the US to join our studies on the EU, and support our colleagues to undertaking field research in the US and Europe. In the past decade, we have established exchange programs with the following universities and institutes: European University Institute, Oxford University, London School of Economics, University of London, Université de Paris-Sorbonne, Université de Panthéon-Sorbonne, University of California in Berkley, Max Planck Institute, the EUSA in the US, the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Central Bank. From 2009 to 2011, three international conferences and five national conferences were organized and hosted at the IEAS. 
    This program has resulted in the publication of more than one hundred articles in leading Chinese and international journals, and seven books in a EU Studies series: EC Integration and EC-ROC Relations (1995), Theories and Policies of the EU (1998), The Economic and Trade Policies of the EU (2000), The EU Human Rights (2006), The EU Constitution (2007), The EU Human Rights Policy(2009), and Biotechnology Policy in the EU and the USA (2011). Many articles have been published by researchers associated with the program in the following leading international journals:European Law Journal, European Foreign Affairs Review, Journal of European Integration, Journal of World Trade, World Competition, Asia Europe Journal, Revue d’Histoire Diplômatique, and Journal of European Integration History. Most importantly, the majority of these international journals were publishing, for the first time, articles on EU Studies written by Asian scholars. In the past decade, the IEAS has made great progress in its efforts to elevate the quality of its EU Studies, and thereby assume a leading role in EU Studies in Asia. 

3.      Future Research Directions

Drawing on past research directions and experience, and taking the researchers’ specialties in sociology into consideration, this research project also intends to examine EU constitutionalism and policy development, EU human rights, EU foreign relations, EU relations with Taiwan and China, Europeanization, and the European integration movement and related societal issues. The breakdown of future research directions are as following: 

1)      EU integration theory: to analyze the application of EU integration theory, comparative studies on similar theories, and the concept of Europeanization.

2)      EU constitutionalism and policy development: to examine EU constitutionalism, the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU institutions and policies, EU human rights diplomacy and policies, CJEU/ECHR jurisprudence, climate changes, energy security and food safety, and European societal changes (immigration policies, population aging, low birth rate, unemployment rate, etc.).   

3)      EU foreign relations and relations with Taiwan and China: to explore EU relations with Asia, Taiwan, and China, EU relations with other international organizations, and the EU’s international status.