The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on Next Generation EU-UK Relations (JMCE NEXT-REL) is aimed at exploring the different dimensions of the relationship between the EU and the UK. These range from diplomatic relations, to commercial, financial, defence and migration issues. The ambition and scope of the centre is therefore to examine the future relationship between the EU and the UK not from a divergence/fracture perspective that is the one that has been focused on thus far. Rather, it aims to explain, through a multi-dimensional and inter- and multi-disciplinary approach, whether new forms of co-operation and governance can be adopted to promote convergence and the attainment of common interests between the EU and the UK.

JMCE NEXT-REL aims to strengthen teaching, research and outreach activities of King’s College London at the intersection of legal, social and political science approaches to EU governance. It aims to be a catalyst for joint activities of staff and students studying the European Union across the Dickson Pool School of Law and Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy. As the only Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in the academic and political hub of London to focus on EU-UK future relations, the centre will continue to create opportunities for discussion between scholars, officials, civil society practitioners and the wider public about contemporary issues arising from European governance and EU-UK relations.

With respect to the specific activities involved in the project, these include:

Teaching activities

JMCE modules

Teaching activities include innovative modules in multiple King's departments and open to bachelor and postgraduate students that take interdisciplinary approaches to addressing the topics and teaching methods (e.g., simulated trials and negotiations). These modules include the following:

• BA module on UK-EU financial services: This module will introduce students to the politics of EU financial services integration, with a particular focus on the role of the UK and the position of the City of London as a global financial centre and pioneer the use of innovative teaching methods by using the City of London as an extension of the ‘classroom’ (e.g., field trips, interviews).
• MA module on the political economy of international migration: This module will elaborate on the myths of international migration and on the impact it can have on the future of EU-UK relations and introduce students to the impact of globalisation on migratory flows from a distinct International Political Economy (IPE) perspective, with particular attention on the dynamics of migration from Less Developed Countries to the EU and their relation to populism.
• LLB module on greening trade regulation: This module explores the import of environmental protection for trade governance in the EU (e.g. the European Green Deal) and internationally (e.g. influence of green regulation across regulatory regimes internationally, significance for the conclusion of international trade agreements, import for EU-UK future relations).
• LLM module on EU law in crisis: This module examines the internal ‘rule of law’ challenges the EU is facing and an examination of how these challenges affect both internal law and governance and the EU’s external legitimacy and relations with other international actors.
• LLM module on international and EU subsidies control and policy: This module introduces students to the legal framework under EU and international law (e.g., WTO, TCA) within which Europe has responded to the recent economic turmoil and debates about the role of public spending and subsidies.

Jean Monnet EU-UK Relations School of Diplomacy

This is a series of lectures given by academics or external speakers to diplomats and practitioners on the future of the relations between the EU and the UK in the financial, legal and political sphere that seeks to engage students, academics, the EU institutions, government officials, and other stakeholders.

Research activities

An annual joint conference

Co-organised with colleagues working across the university on the next relation between the EU and the UK. The conference is a major stimulus to the pooling of activities at King's and also has an outreach dimension to the scholarly and practitioner community by promoting new ideas and leading to publications.

An interdisciplinary JMCE EU-UK NEXT REL seminar series

Aimed to attract scholars and postgraduate students to advance cutting-edge research on the future of the relations between the EU and the UK in co-operation with the Dickson Poon School of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Public Policy.

Debating activities

European week

Co-organised by students and staff of the centre. The activity invites a diverse group of speakers from public authorities, think-tanks, NGOs and citizens movements to discuss the challenges of the changing relations between the EU and the UK. It is designed to go beyond the usual target audience of scholars and academics, and aimed to maximise outreach to civil society in terms of participants, in particular NGOs and international organizations.

An annual keynote lecture

The lecture involves high-profile speakers addressing an audience comprising practitioners and the interested public, as well as academics and research students.

Social Media

You can keep up with the activities of the centre via our social media platforms. These offer a forum for analysis, commentary and debate on contemporary EU-UK relations, law and public policy. Regular academic contributors are drawn from across three research centres within King’s: the Centre for European Studies (forthcoming), Centre of European Law, and the King’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy.

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