The University of New York Tirana (UNYT) has proactively established the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence to augment its burgeoning reputation and expertise in the domain of European Integration. By establishing this Centre of Excellence, UNYT aims to enhance its research profile in various EU Studies, secure external funding to support its research endeavors, offer a comprehensive degree program in EU Studies, and foster inter-institutional partnerships with other Centers of Excellence globally.
The creation of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at UNYT serves as a strategic move that will contribute towards strengthening the university’s research and educational programs in the area of European Integration. This initiative enables UNYT to attract and retain top-notch researchers and scholars who specialize in EU Studies, thereby creating a vibrant research culture within the university.
The Centre of Excellence also permits UNYT to provide an EU Studies degree program, thereby catering to students with a keen interest in EU integration. The curriculum of this degree program is designed in collaboration with the Centre’s research team, thus ensuring that it is relevant and reflective of the latest trends and developments in the EU. The establishment of this program will further cement UNYT’s reputation as a leading academic institution in the field of EU Studies.
Furthermore, the Centre of Excellence has enabled UNYT to establish partnerships with other Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence worldwide. These collaborations have provided opportunities for UNYT to share knowledge, resources, and expertise, and foster the exchange of best practices in the domain of European Integration. Such partnerships have opened avenues for joint research initiatives and academic exchange programs, thus promoting cross-cultural learning and understanding.
The establishment of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at UNYT marks a significant milestone in the university’s pursuit of academic excellence in the field of European Integration. The Centre’s objectives of enhancing research, securing external funding, offering a degree program, and fostering partnerships with other Centres of Excellence worldwide has undoubtedly contributed towards the realization of UNYT’s vision of becoming a leading academic institution in the region.
Eltion Meka
Eltion Meka is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of New York Tirana. Dr. Meka is designated as the academic coordinator of this Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence project. In the past two years, Eltion has been the recipient of two Jean Monnet grants: A Jean Monnet Module in 2016 and a Jean Monnet Network in 2017. During this period he has organized a number of major activities in the area of EU Studies such as an international conference titled “Democratization and Ethnic Reconciliation: Theoretical challenges and the role of European integration” and a Winter School titled “Creating Territorial Cooperation: The Impact of the Intercultural Dialogue and Migration Flows in South-East Europe”.
Eltion’s research interests focus on democracy promotion and the role of the EU in Eastern Europe. His academic work has been published in reputable international journals (such as the Journal of European Integration and Europe-Asia Studies), while a number of his ongoing working papers have been included in this project proposal as research activities.
Ariana Cela
Ariana Çela has an Ed.D in Management and Tourism from University of Northern Iowa, USA, an MSc in Leisure and Environments from the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands, and a B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of Tirana, Albania. Her areas of interest in research include public policy, public finance, performance-based budgeting, international management, regional development, entrepreneurship and SMEs, tourism management, cultural heritage management, and project financing. She is an assistant professor at the University of New York Tirana since 2009 and was previously a lecturer at the University of Northern Iowa in the USA from 2004-2006. She worked in the Ministry of Economy as a specialist in the Competition Department (2001-2004) and was a Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance between 2006-2009. Later, she worked as the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor from 2009-2013.
Fatos Tarifa
With a PhD in Political Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctoral degree in Political Science from the University of Tirana. Prof. Fatos Tarifa is a renowned social scientist and a prolific author. He teaches political sociology, international relations, and geopolitics. His books include (in English): Europe Adrift on the Wine Dark Sea (2007), The Balkans: A Mission neither Accomplished nor Impossible (2002), The Quest for Legitimacy and the Withering Away of Utopia (2001), The Breakdown of State Socialism and the Emerging Post-Socialist Order (2001), The First Decade and After: Albania’s Democratic Transition and Consolidation in the Context of Southeast Europe (2000), Open-Ended History: Dangers and Dilemmas of Transition (1998. His numerous articles have been published in journals with impact factor, such as Social Forces (Oxford University Press), Policy Review (Stanford University/Hoover Institution), Mediterranean Quarterly (Duke University Press), Studies in Comparative International Development (Springer), East European Politics and Societies (Sage), Development and Change (Wiley-Blackwell), Communist and Post-Communist Studies (Elsevier), etc. Professor Tarifa is currently President of the Albanian Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Ilir Kalemaj
Associate Professor Ilir Kalemaj, holds a PhD from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. He has published a myriad of scholarly papers in international and national peer-reviewed journals and has participated in more than 30 national and international conferences. Moreover, he has recently published books Contested Borders: Territorialization of National Identity and Shifts of “Imagined Geographies” in Albania, by Peter Lang Ltd. Oxford 2014; ”Kosovo and Albania: Quo Vadis?, by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; My kind of NATO: Perceptions from Albania, by the Centre for European and Security Affairs/ Institute for Democracy and Mediation with support of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, etc. Kalemaj is dealing now with issues about democratic transition & democratic consolidation, political culture, and the question of nationalism, as well as EU Integration processes in Albania and Western Balkans.
Juna Miluka
Juna Miluka holds a PhD in economics from American University, Washington, DC. She is an associate professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of New York, Tirana. She has extensive experience working as a consultant with many international organizations conducting research on issues such as migration, labor market, poverty, education, vulnerability, agriculture, etc. Dr. Miluka is an expert in economic research, development, as well as gender issues. Working as an international consultant for the World Bank and IOM has given her considerable experience in migration studies and poverty assessment. Two of her studies on the impact of international migration in Albanian family farming and education have been published in a prestigious academic journal. Her work with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in Washington, DC, has given her experience in rural development. As a consultant for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, she has conducted a gender assessment for Moldovan farmers using farm survey data. Among other organizations, she has also worked as a national consultant for UNWOMEN on issues of women’s economic empowerment, including issues of employment, poverty, entrepreneurship, and health, and conducted vulnerability studies for UNDP.
Bekim Nuhija
In June 2013, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuhija was awarded his Ph.D. in Law at the University of Maastricht (the Netherlands). Since that moment, he has been conducting research on the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups through a comparative approach. In addition, from 2011-2018, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuhija was a lecturer at Southeast European University, where he taught different courses such as Public International Law, European Union Law, Comparative Law, and Human Rights Law. At UNYT, he teaches courses such as Domestic and Int’l Human Rights Law; Public International Law; and Law, Politics, and Religion.
Can Bekaroğlu
In December 2015 Dr. Bekaroğlu was awarded his Ph.D. title in Economics with a dissertation title “Multi-Stage Analysis of Healthcare Efficiency in OECD and the Impact of Technology on Healthcare”. Since October 2010, Dr. Bekaroğlu has been conducting research on different topics regarding the economy and finance. In addition to that, from since the fall of 2018, Dr. Bekaroğlu has been a Lecturer at UNYT, where he teaches several courses on economics.
EU Economic and Public Policy | |
Week | Topic Covered |
I | Introduction to EU Economic Public Policy |
II | Introduction to EU Economic Public Policy |
III | Economic Convergence or Divergence in the EU? |
IV | Economic Convergence or Divergence in the EU? |
V | EU Socio-Economic Governance |
VI | EU Socio-Economic Governance |
VII | European Monetary Policy and Euro |
VIII | European Monetary Policy and Euro |
IX | Midterm Exam |
X | EU Entrepreneurship Policy |
XI | EU Entrepreneurship Policy |
XII | European Competition and State Aid Policy |
XIII | European Competition and State Aid Policy |
XIV | |
XV | Final Exam |
Party Politics and European Integration | |
Week | Topic Covered |
I | Orientation and Explanation of Course Format. European Integration and its theories: Neo-functionalism, Inter-Governmentalism, Federalism, Neo-institutionalism, Multi Level Governance. |
II | Creation of the European Community and its development from 1945 – 1970s: Treaty of Paris (ECSC), Treaty of Rome (EEC & Euroatom), Merger Treaty (EC). |
III | Development of the European Community and European Integration in the 1980s: Single European Act. |
IV | EU in the 1990s: Treaty of Maastricht (TEU), Treaty of Amsterdam, Treaty of Nice. |
V | Constitutional and Lisbon Treaties. |
VI | EU Institutions: Parliament, Commission, Council etc. |
VII | Midterm Exam |
VIII | EU Policies: CAP, Singlet Market, EMU etc. |
IX | Policy-making system in the EU: how the EU works? |
X | Political parties in the European Parliament. |
XI | Enlargement Policy: Deepening versus Widening. Five previous enlargements (1973-85). |
XII | 2004 enlargement and the perspective of the future enlargements: Western Balkans and Turkey. |
XIII | The issue of geographical borders of the EU and European identity. |
XIV | Brexit |
XV | Final Exam |
EU Law in the Albanian Legal System | |
Week | Topic Covered |
I | EU Enlargement and Albania • Introduction to EU integration • European Treaties |
II | : Accession criteria and Pre-accession strategy on the EU Enlargement • Copenhagen criteria of 1993 • Madrid criteria of 1995 • Thessaloniki Summit of 2003 • Berlin Process of 2014 • Sofia Summit of 2018 • Brdo Summit 2021 |
III | Albanian Integration in the EU 1. History of Albanian integration in the EU 2. The Importance of Stabilization and Association Agreement with Albania 3. Albanian legal reforms |
IV | EU enlargement strategy reform priorities: Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans |
V | Instruments for precession strategy IPA and IPA II Plan |
VI | National Plan for the Albanian Integration to EU |
VII | Midterm Exam |
VIII | Albania and EU Acquis: Chapters for Negotiation CH 1-33, The Screening Process |
IX | Four Freedoms of EU |
X | EU State Aid and SAA: The Approximation of the Legislation |
XI | Regulatory Impact Assessment & EU law transposition in Albania |
XII | EU integration and the Role of the CSOs in the negotiation process |
XIII | Albanian accession towards EU and Governance of Migration |
XIV | Opening of accession talks with Albania: Conditions of the Council of Europe • Electoral Reform • Judicial Reform • Fight Against Corruption • Fight Against Organized Crime, etc. |
XV | Final Exam |
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