Dr Giacomo Benedetto of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London has been awarded a prestigious Jean Monnet Chair by the European Union for his teaching on the EU and his research on the EU’s budget.
Dr Giacomo Benedetto
Dr Benedetto’s recent research has analysed the competition that exists between the Council of the European Union, which represents the 28 national governments, and the elected European Parliament in setting the budget. He has also looked at the prospect of reform in European Union expenditure away from agriculture and regional spending towards collective benefits in the fields of research and development, digital networks, and energy security. The Jean Monnet Chair will enable Dr Benedetto to focus on those expenditure reforms, as well as changes to the sources of revenue for the European Union’s budget.
In the light of the UK’s EU referendum result, Dr Benedetto’s research will also consider how British exit from the European Union will affect the budget both inside the United Kingdom and with respect to the rest of the European Union. This research will allow for new teaching at Royal Holloway on the history of the European integration since 1950 and on the challenges for the European Union’s budget. As part of the award, Dr Benedetto will also provide training on the EU budget for civil servants and others.
“I feel very honoured to have been award a Jean Monnet Chair”, said Dr Benedetto. “The award will allow me to enhance research and teaching on the European Union at this important moment for the EU and the UK, while providing information on the making of budgets to audiences at Royal Holloway, in the UK and further afield.”
Dr Benedetto will give the Jean Monnet Inaugural Lecture, entitled £350 million per week and why Europe needs a budget, on Tuesday 6 December 2016 at 6.15pm in the Main Lecture Theatre of Royal Holloway’s Founder's Building.
The Jean Monnet programme is an EU initiative named in honour of one of the founders of European integration, who was also the first President of the European Coal and Steel Community’s High Authority. The programme co-finances academic Chairs, research centres, networks, projects and course modules with a teaching or research focus on aspects of the European Union across the social sciences.
Dr Benedetto tweets at @JeanMonnetRHUL
