This research, conducted together with the Istituto Universitario Europeo (Prof. Francioni), revolved around the Human Rights Council that was instituted by the UN General Assembly on 3 April 2006 (Resolution 60/251), notwithstanding the unfavourable voting of major members such as the United States. The aim was to verify if, and to what degree, the Council actually meets with the expectations of UN members.

This two-year research project was focused on the role of the European Union in the United Nations reform process, looking both at previous efforts and at current trends. The research is was conducted together with the University of Kiel (Germany) and entailed the establishment of two working groups, composed of experts and high-level political stakeholders, who were called upon to address the issue of Security Council reform (Working Group I) and cooperation between the EU and the UN in the fields of peacekeeping, peace-enforcing and peace-building (Working Group II).