Meet Stella Nuria Aiello | EUFutures affiliated student

Our section, EUFutures Affiliated Researchers and Students, continues to showcase the work of emerging scholars who collaborate with the EUFutures Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. In this feature, we introduce Stella Nuria Aiello, a student in the Master's Degree programme in International and Diplomatic Sciences at the University of Bologna. Her research interests focus on European Political Economy, in particular the evolution of European economic and financial governance.

Between July 2026 and March 2027, she collaborates with EUFutures as part of her master's thesis, which examines the role of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as a manager of global crises. The work traces the evolution of European economic and financial governance through the analysis of the sovereign debt crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, trade tensions with the United States, and the conflict in Iran, adopting an institutionalist approach attentive to the role of ideas, actors, and critical junctures.

The research draws on official European Union documents, including communications from the European Commission, conclusions of the Council of the EU, the European Council, and the Eurogroup, resolutions of the European Parliament, and publications from the European Central Bank, alongside the analysis of policy instruments such as the Stability and Growth Pact, REPowerEU, and various negotiated and tariff-related agreements.              

The aim of the research is to identify recurring patterns in the EMU's response to external shocks and to contribute to the debate on the resilience and future of European integration.