An inter-ministerial governmental committee has chosen BGU's Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society to represent Israeli academia in a new Mediterranean research network. The network, under the auspices of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), will include Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia. The first meeting of the network took place last week in Turin, Italy and its official launch will take place in September in Rome under the auspices of the Italian Foreign Minister, Federica Mogherini.
The inter-ministerial committee chose the Centre from among all of the universities, research centers and think- tanks in Israel. The committee appointed the Centre’s chair, Dr. Sharon Pardo (pictured above) of the Department of Politics and Government, to serve as Israel’s Scientific Focal Point.
“The idea is to create a parallel and complementary path to the political dialogue between the OSCE and its Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation, which will be comprised of researchers from the region,” Pardo said.
The network will focus on dynamics and changes in the Mediterranean basin; will promote dialogue based on OSCE’s experience and the Helsinki Process; will support multilateral discussions and will encourage a comparative dialogue in the Mediterranean space; and will initiate ideas to promote the political dialogue, he added.
Pardo was awarded the prestigious Jean Monnet Chair ad personam earlier this year – the first (and the only) to be awarded to a scholar in Israel. The lifetime chair recognizes the outstanding calibre of Pardo's research and teaching on the European integration process. It is the highest award the European Commission can bestow on a European Studies scholar. The Centre became a National Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence this past summer (the only centre in Israel) and was just recently recognized as one of the top 20 centers for European Studies in the world by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Union.
