In 1946, faced with the devastation of World War II, Sir Winston Churchill called for “the United States of Europe.”  He believed that an integrated Europe was the only way to guarantee peace and prosperity in Europe.  More than six decades later, the European Union, with 27 member states, is more united than Churchill could have thought possible. The EU has become a major global actor whose policy decisions—from trade to foreign policy—impact the rest of the world.  The current financial crisis has again brought to fore the fact that the U.S. and Europe are thoroughly interconnected, historically, politically, and economically.  The European Union Center at the University of Illinois aims to promote a greater understanding of the interconnectedness, of relations between the U.S. and the EU.

The University established the European Union Center in 1998, with support from the European Commission, as one of 10 EU centers in the United States.  In 2003, the EU Center gained additional recognition for its excellence when it was designated as a Title VI National Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Education.  Since its inception, the Center’s mission has been to support teaching and research on the European Union, to create a next generation of experts, and to provide outreach programs to diverse audiences to help them expand their knowledge of the EU.

With over 80 distinguished and talented Illinois faculty affiliated with the Center, the EUC serves as the focal point for EU studies on campus.

The Center promotes development of new, innovative courses, such as supporting the instruction of less commonly taught languages such as Polish, Czech, Swedish, and Turkish.  We provide Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships to graduate students learning a language alongside their other studies.  The Center also supports research and conferences, and organizes a wide array of programs from conferences to movie nights. 
One of our most important programs is the annual State of the EU Address delivered by the ambassador from the country holding the EU Presidency at the time.   In October 2008, we were honored to have His Excellency Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of France to the U.S., give the State of the EU Address as well as join us in celebrating the Center’s 10th anniversary.  The webcast of the address as well as a diplomatic corps panel discussion on the future of the EU can be found on the Center Web site.

The EU Center also offers an academic program to train students with EU expertise. We are pleased to announce a new Graduate Minor in European Union Studies this spring.  The new minor is an ideal program for graduate students in professional schools or in disciplinary degree programs who wish to obtain an EU specialization, which is especially useful for those interested in business, law and diplomacy.  The Center also plans to launch in the near future a new MA program in EU studies, the only such program in the United States.

Reaching out to communities outside the Illinois campus is essential to the EU Center’s mission.  For K-16 educators, the EUC organizes a number of workshops, the most important being the summer curriculum development workshop on the EU.  The 2009 workshop, “How Does the EU Work?” will feature notable Illinois faculty speakers and will be held June 24-27.  Many of the participating teachers will go on an EU study tour in July, funded by a grant from the European Commission (see below). The Center staff also provides presentations at schools, Extension workshops, business seminars, policy briefings, Elderhostels, international cultural fests, radio and TV shows, and the Illinois State Fair.  For September 2009, we are organizing an exciting public program called “Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan, 1948-53,” featuring 21 short rare films that showcase the European recovery plan, offering startling and relevant insights into the challenges faced by the U.S. and Europe today in many parts of the world. We are delighted that the curator of the series, Sandra Schulberg, daughter of Stuart Schulberg - chief of the Marshall Plan Motion Picture Section, will be in residence for a number of events, including an Elderhostel on this topic.

While the EU Center is always busy organizing programs, it also serves as a clearinghouse of information on the EU.  We distribute an e-weekly calendar, filled with announcements of European-related events on campus, as well as fellowships, scholarships and calls for papers, and job announcements. To subscribe to our EUC e-Weekly, please send us an email at eucenter@illinois.edu.  The Center also maintains an online working paper series, generates and disseminates lesson plans and other resources - even an EU cookbook (which can be downloaded from the EUC Web site), and sends out European Commission publications on various topics. 

New EUC grant for 2009: “Illinois and the European Union: From Coal to Corn”

In December of 2008, the EU Center was awarded a European Commission’s “Getting to Know Europe” Grant to implement the project, Illinois and the European Union: From Coal to Corn.  The project highlights the multi-faceted economic, social, cultural and historical connections between the state of Illinois and the EU.  Using “corn” and “coal” as emblems for the importance of both agriculture and industry in the relationship between the EU and Illinois, the project explores such issues as the transatlantic trade, clean energy (biofuels, clean-coal), immigration, and governance in the EU and how the EU policies impact Illinois directly. The EUC has partnered with a variety of university and non-university organizations, businesses, and state officials as well as regional high schools, colleges and media to provide a wide array of programs, including various competitions.  We are currently working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the European Commission to run an Illinois Euro Challenge, a competition for high school students to learn more about the Eurozone and the EU economy.  As the capstone of the project, the EUC is taking a group of Illinois K-12 teachers, state legislators, journalists, high school and Illinois undergraduate students on a Study Tour to Europe this summer.

The Center has also developed a Web site dedicated to exploring the direct connection between Illinois and the EU, offering fun multimedia tools, statistical data on transatlantic trade and economy, links to European companies and organizations in Illinois, descriptive documents, useful teaching links, and current events. It will serve as a comprehensive source for information on how the EU is connected to the economy, politics, culture, and heritage of Illinois and the Midwest.
As we at the European Union Center celebrate our 10th anniversary, we look forward to another decade of exciting programs that elucidate the ever-evolving transatlantic relations between the U.S. and the EU.  For more information please visit euc.illinois.edu

Did you know that…

• The EU and U.S. make up three-fifths of global GDP, a third of world trade in goods and two-fifths in services?
• EU investment flows represent more than 40 percent of total Foreign Direct Investment to the U.S., and more than half of all private direct investment outflows from the U.S. were directed to the EU?
• The overall “transatlantic workforce” is estimated to be 12-14 million, of which half are Americans who owe their jobs directly or indirectly to EU companies?
• Illinois ranks fourth among American states in exports to the EU, seventh in EU direct investment, and sixth in the number of jobs supported directly by EU investment?
• The EU invested over $24 billion in Illinois in 2006, and that made up 56 percent of Illinois’ foreign investment and supported 162,300 jobs?
• The EU is watching closely Illinois’ plans to develop the first clean coal power plant, FutureGen, in Mattoon?
• Illinois has over 40 cities that are paired with over 45 sister cities throughout the EU?
• The majority of early European immigrants to Illinois came from Germany, Ireland, England and Scandinavia, but during the twentieth century, Eastern and Southern Europeans outnumbered Western European immigrants?

Program Highlights and Resources:

1. New Graduate Minor in EU Studies
2. Graduate interdisciplinary seminars on the EU;
3. Foreign Language and Area Studies(FLAS) Fellowship for graduate students;
4. Grants for faculty and students;
5. Support for instruction of less commonly taught languages of the region;
6. Annual EU Day State of the European Union Address featuring European Ambassadors (France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Finland, Slovenia since 2000);
7. EUC brown bag lecture series, Professionalism in Europe workshops, and other campus events;
8. Support for EU-related conferences and events;
9. Visiting scholars and linkages with European institutions;
10. EU Online Library;
11. Curriculum Development Workshops for K-16 Educators;
12. Other outreach activities for diverse constituents.