Researching Europe.
Sharing Knowledge.
Institute for European Integration
The Institute for European Integration is an independent, interdisciplinary research institute. Founded in 1978, it has the status of an academic institution at the University of Hamburg.
The institute initiates and conducts interdisciplinary research on European integration, integration processes in other parts of the world and, more broadly, Europe’s foundations and the questions and challenges it faces. It carries out this research independently or in collaboration with other academic institutions. It also makes its research accessible to a wider public through events and other public-facing formats.
The institute’s research looks beyond the confines of the European Union and considers Europe’s relations with the wider world. It also asks how Europe is perceived and understood in other parts of the world and how those regions relate to Europe.
Europe is not treated as a fixed entity. The institute approaches it both as an interconnected political, economic, social, legal, historical and cultural space and as the subject of historically situated and continually evolving ideas through which Europe is described, interpreted and shaped.
Questions concerning Europe can therefore only be adequately studied through exchange across academic disciplines and with an awareness of their intellectual, historical and international contexts. Consequently, the institute’s fellows, staff and visiting scholars are committed to interdisciplinary approaches that bring together these different dimensions.
People
The Institute for European Integration is led by a board of directors. Its current members are the institute’s Director of Research, PD Dr Andreas Grimmel, and Prof. Dr Eva van der Zee. Members of the board of directors are elected by the executive board of the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg foundation and appointed in consultation with the President of the University of Hamburg.
The institute appoints Research Fellows as associate members who work closely with the institute and contribute to its academic programme. The foundation Stiftung Europa-Kolleg Hamburg also provides academic staff to support the institute’s work.
Visiting Researchers
The institute regularly welcomes visiting researchers from around the world to conduct research in Hamburg. You can find an overview of our current and former visiting researchers here.
If you are interested in a self-funded or externally funded research stay at the institute, you are welcome to apply directly.
Stiftung Europa-Kolleg Hamburg also periodically issues calls for visiting fellowships at the institute and provides funding for the associated stipends.
For 2027, we have issued two calls for applications:
- Political Economy, Infrastructure and Geoeconomics in a European Context (view the call here)
- Democratic Resilience, Authoritarian Populism and Participation in Europe (view the call here)
Both calls are aimed at early-career researchers. The application deadline for both calls is 21 December 2026.
Library
The institute’s reference library holds around 15,000 titles on European history, law, economics, politics and culture.
Since 2004, titles have been recorded in the Campus Catalogue of the Hamburg State and University Library. Older holdings are listed in the institute’s own database.
Academic staff and visiting scholars have round-the-clock access to the library. External visitors are welcome to use it by appointment.
Publications
The Institute for European Integration is responsible for the following publication series:
- The Europa-Kolleg Hamburg book series published by Nomos features publications arising from research projects and conferences. The series includes publications in both German and English. The series now comprises more than 85 volumes.
- Our Discussion Papers series provides a forum for visiting scholars, fellows and members of the institute’s academic staff to present findings from their ongoing research. Papers published between 1994 and 2006 are not available online, but copies of individual papers can be ordered on request.