2013 was a pivotal year for the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS). On the one hand, the appointment of a new UNU Rector was accompanied by an overhaul of the University’s overall vision and strategic objectives. On the other hand, 2013 announces the end of the period covered by the Memorandum of Understanding concluded with the Flemish Government in 2011 and the conduct of a comprehensive exercise aimed at assessing the institute’s performance.

Regardless of these milestones, UNU-CRIS continued to fulfil its overall mission, which is to study the relationships between global and regional governance, to monitor regional integration worldwide and to assess the various dimensions of regional integration, with a focus on its socio-economic and politico-security aspects. The Institute has devoted particular attention to the conduct of comparative and multi-disciplinary research. The research projects, activities and publications carried have moreover allowed UNU-CRIS to strengthen its collaboration and interactions with various institutions and top academics from all over the world.

This report aims to provide an overall picture of last year’s academic achievements.

Luk Van Langenhove
Director UNU-CRIS