The Institute for European Studies is a multi-disciplinary teaching and research institute within the University of Malta. It runs an evening Diploma course, as well as full-time courses leading to the Bachelor of European Studies degree and to qualifications at MA and PhD level. Each year Maltese and international students enrol in its degree programmes, and through the ERASMUS Programme it offers a number of student and staff exchanges with universities and institutions of higher learning abroad. The research interests of its staff include comparative politics and history of the European Union (EU); EU institutions; EU external relations and enlargement; small states in the EU; Malta in the EU; Euro-Mediterranean Relations; Stability and Growth Pact; Economic Governance of the Euro Area; Europe 2020; EU development policies and climate change. Founded in 1991 as the European Documentation and Research Centre (EDRC), the Institute was granted the status of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in 2004. The Institute is engaged in various research and publication activities in European Integration Studies and is a member of the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), EPERN (European Parties Elections and Referendums Network), EADI (the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes), PADEMIA (the Erasmus Academic Network on Parliamentary Democracy in Europe), the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), and the two Euro-Mediterranean networks, EuroMeSCo (the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission) and FEMISE. The Institute is also a member of the Council for European Studies (hosted at Columbia University).