ABOUT BBU EUROPEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ERI)

One of the most competitive and performance oriented operational structures created within the framework of "Babeş-Bolyai" University (BBU), the European Research Institute (ERI), was established in October 2003 as a result of the need to conduct more effective high target research in the field of European studies – as the main fields of interest and object of the Faculty of European Studies (FES), which, as worthwhile pointing out, is the earliest fully accredited entity of its kind in Romania and one of the first set up in Eastern and Central Europe.

The Institute's main purposes are to develop efficient research concerning open issues of European interest, to provide relevant data bases for further research into these specific areas, to suggest solutions for peculiar problems emerging in the process of European construction, to promote democratic values, high performance, interdisciplinary approaches, perpetual education and greater communication within the European Union, at local and global levels.

The Institute hosts lifelong learning programs in the fields of management of European projects and entrepreneurial education. Conjointly, through its specialized Centre for the Management of Projects, it facilitates access to financial resources for European and regional development projects, organizing workshops, training sessions and debates concerning the field of project design and project management.

THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOUNDER’S OPENING SPEECH (excerpt)

“.....some facts were obvious to any serious observer: after 1989 we benefited by having Professor Adrian Marino, the most active pro-European author in post-war Romania, here in our town; we had the advantage of collaborating with Nicolae Balotă, the main representative of the synchronistic trend; in the last few years many illustrious leaders of pan-European culture came here; it was here in 1995, that the earliest Faculty of European Studies in Central and Eastern Europe was founded; here that an important Library for European Studies was set up; that the largest series of books concerned with European studies (including history, economics, law, anthropology and philosophy) was published; that the first programs of joint degrees (including the Ph.D.level) were initiated; that outstanding specialists developed and recorded their competitive research in worthy publications in the fields of history, economics, ecology and philosophy; it was here, at “Babeş-Bolyai” University, that we had one of the most extensive university libraries in Eastern Europe; that the first Romanian generations of qualified Europeanists were brought up; that the first Publishing House for European Studies was founded and the earliest programs for their accomplishment in Romania were created.
Due to a multitude of reasons: the necessity to getting down to open issues, of supporting Romania’s integration in the EU, the imperative of relevance, etc. – now, something else is needed in the field of European Studies. Let me be more specific about that thing – through a comparative approach:
* There are many European Studies developed in our country, however, European research programs are needed.
* There is plenty of information on what has been done in the field, but open issues need to be focused on.
* There are a large number of, so called 'Europeanist events' at Cluj, as in the whole country. Yet they continue to reinforce the same old propaganda in the most gaudy and manipulating terms, instead of showing that the real problem, Romania’s integration in EU, exacts deep social and attitudinal changes.
* There are many local gatherings and conferences, but the debate is far less internationalized than it should be.
* There are many mono-disciplinary studies, yet inter-disciplinary ones have not yet been developed on a significant scale.
* Many Institutes for European Studies have sprung up all around the country, but some make a dangerous mix between empirical research and trivial propaganda. So, neither the foreign nor the Romanian public can take into account their research, yet honest and reliable work has to be done.
* Basic and reliable research on Romania is carried out almost exclusively abroad; research initiated in Romania is used, in the best case as a scenario, meant to be lead-in for further research, or as ethnographic studies.
* Though there is some high quality research, the great majority of it is relatively unknown outside the borders of our country.
* There are some informative studies, but very few can be used as a basis for decision making.
Now, I want to summarize in terms of a positive manner the objectives of the European Research Institute opened today: effective research must be done on open issues with an emphasis on the problem of indispensable changes in Romania in view of extending the internationalization of the research; developing the inter-disciplinary approach; realizing relevant and trustworthy research in the European area, so that one might take them as a basis for decision making.”