The Academic Club of European Studies (CASE) is a project that evolved from several academic and research initiatives. CASE builds on the determination of several researchers, Ph.d. candidates and students to use their abilities and competences towards European public policy analysis and recommendations. Our research interests are focused on key issues in European studies, European institutions and policies, European government and the international relations of the European Union.

During the 2006-2009 period the Jean Monnet Module “Continuity and Change in the European Governance” was organized within the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (NSPSPA). Building on the knowledge and experience gained through the module, the organizers and participants created the Academic Club of European Studies (CASE), a non-governmental and independent organisation, in 2008.

This initiative wouldn’t have had significant results without institutional support. The help and advice of several researchers and professors from NSPSPA and from the Department of International Relations and European Integration (DIREI) led to the development of the CASE project. From this initiative arose CASE, a centre that aims to provide thorough research on Europeanization and European issues in general and to carry out academic initiatives that promote the European values and practices, stimulating the participation of the academic community to the life of the Romanian society.

The question is: What distinguishes CASE in a field in which think tanks of political science and European studies have proliferated significantly? The answer is that CASE combines excellence in research and in the academic community with the “grass-roots” initiative and the desire to influence public policies toward Europeanization. In addition to the objective of providing a space for debate, a characteristic of all NGOs and think-tanks, CASE encourages excellence and reliability in dealing with European issues, without neglecting the real need for mobilization to influence public policy.