Prof. Wessels is the Jean Monnet Chairholder for Political Science at Cologne University and visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium) and Natolin (Poland). He also acts as Chairman of the Board of the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA), is co-editor of the “Jahrbuch für Europäische Integration” and holder of the “Award for Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary European Studies 2011” of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES). His main research fields are institutional and theoretical issues of European integration, EU external relations, Economic and Monetary Union and comparative political analysis. He is associate of a number of European and international research institutions and bodies.