Jean Monnet EU BREATHE ChairFaculty of Law

EU-BREATHE

About the Chair

EU-BREATHE is a Jean Monnet Chair that aims to make the European Union's budgetary response to COVID-19 both understandable and engaging. Through hands-on teaching methods, the project shows how the EU budget became a safety net and a catalyst for economic recovery and institutional resilience during the pandemic.

The name “EU-BREATHE” is symbolic: just as the virus affected our ability to breathe, the EU used its budget to help European societies breathe again—economically and socially. The Next Generation EU plan, agreed in 2020, represented a turning point. It introduced joint borrowing, reshaped political priorities, and expanded the EU’s role in coordinating national economic policies and cohesion funding. These developments have transformed how the EU budget operates and how it affects everyday life.

EU-BREATHE brings this complex post-crisis architecture closer to university students and the general public. It fosters critical thinking about EU decision-making and its direct impact on citizens’ lives. Ultimately, the project seeks to strengthen trust in the EU by promoting understanding and active involvement in its evolving governance model.

Contact

Chair Coordinator

Prof. Dr. María Luisa Sánchez-Barrueco
University of Deusto
Faculty of Law

+34 944 139 003
Ext: 2854
marialuisa.sanchez@deusto.es

 

EU-BREATHE

Thematic Areas of the project

1

EU Budget

The EU’s financial response to the pandemic has been unprecedented, multiplying its budgetary capacity fivefold and authorizing joint debt issuance for the first time

2

Economic coordination

The project examines how the EU guides national economic policies through the European Semester, a framework that has grown in influence since the financial crisis

3

Cohesion policy

Next Generation EU operates under cohesion rules, using a blend of EU-wide and national governance to direct recovery investments where they are most needed

4

Protecting the EU’s financial interests and the rule of law

The new budgetary framework includes stronger safeguards against fraud and misuse of funds, linking financial support to rule of law compliance and empowering the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

EU-BREATHEUnderstanding the EU Budget to Face the Future

Transformative Impulse

The European Union budget has evolved from being merely a tool for redistribution among Member States to becoming a powerful engine for change and recovery. This shift became especially clear after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the EU took an unprecedented step by approving the Next Generation EU recovery plan, allowing joint borrowing to finance Europe’s reconstruction.

Budgetary Education

In this context, EU-BREATHE (EU Budget for Recovery: Effectiveness and Accountability To Harbor resiliencE) was launched as a Jean Monnet Chair project aimed at making the EU budget more accessible to students, professionals, and citizens alike. The initiative explores how the EU has reshaped its financial framework to respond to global crises, and what this transformation means for democracy, transparency, and public accountability.

Sustainable Finance

The Chair focuses on topics such as the evolution of EU finances, the legal principles behind them, the balance between solidarity and responsibility, and how the EU coordinates complex policies-from cohesion and green transition to economic recovery. EU-BREATHE encourages dialogue, learning, and critical thinking about the role of the EU budget in building a more resilient, effective, and citizen-connected Union.

EU BREATHE

Proposal

EU-BREATHE is a project that strengthens teaching and research on key EU topics that are often overlooked in standard academic programmes. It focuses on analysing the Next Generation EU recovery plan and its influence on EU budget rules, economic coordination, social cohesion, and anti-corruption efforts.

The initiative combines university-level education (undergraduate, master’s, and PhD) with outreach to broader audiences, including high school students and senior citizens, encouraging intergenerational dialogue. Through lively courses, seminars, and public events, EU-BREATHE promotes active and informed European citizenship.

Overall, EU-BREATHE aims to become a hub for making sense of the EU’s evolving governance structures—especially those shaped by recent crises—and explaining them in an accessible and engaging way for everyone.

EU-BREATHE is an ambitious project that combines teaching, research, and citizen dialogue to help students and the public better understand the EU’s role in recovery, cohesion, and accountability. It is designed to boost the knowledge-and future employability-of Law and International Relations students by engaging them in the complex and evolving world of EU spending and policy-making.

What makes EU-BREATHE innovative is its cross-disciplinary approach, connecting topics that are rarely studied together—such as public finance, criminal law, economic coordination, and social cohesion. The project equips students with the tools to think critically, reflect independently, and assess institutions fairly. At the same time, it fosters inclusive spaces where students, experts, and policy-makers can engage directly with one another and with citizens’ concerns.

EU-BREATHE builds on the strong tradition of European Studies at the University of Deusto, while also filling important gaps in areas like budgetary policy, democratic accountability, and EU-level criminal law. By drawing on international research networks and promoting open, fact-based debate, the project connects academic knowledge with real-world challenges—creating a more informed and engaged European community.

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Jean Monnet Chair EU BREATHE

team

María Luisa Sánchez Barrueco

María Luisa Sánchez Barrueco

  • Coordinator of EU BREATHE
Laura Gómez Urquijo

Laura Gómez Urquijo

  • Lecturer
Demelsa Benito Sánchez

Demelsa Benito Sánchez

  • Lecturer and researcher
José Ramón Canedo Arrillaga

José Ramón Canedo Arrillaga

  • Lecturer

Jean Monnet Chair EU BREATHE

Blog

See Blog

Eu-Breathe

PRODUCTS AND ACTIVITIES

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Eu-Breathe

PRODUCTS AND ACTIVITIES

D2 Teaching materials

D4 Articles and book chapters

Other activities within the EU BREATHE Chair

Funded by the European Union

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Funded by the European Union

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.