The HEIRS Essay Prize Competition was launched in 2006. The aim is to encouarge contributions from any postgraduate students or young researcher working on any aspect of European integration history. The prize enables students to learn the process of paper preparation for a major journal and enjoy a rare chance to publish while still a doctoral student. All papers are published as part of the usual peer-review process employed by major journals. The winner is usually picked by a committee of leading academic expert historians.

There is currently no open competition for the HEIRS Essay Prize. Please keep checking back for updated information on any future prizes.   

The 2006 HEIRS Essay Prize was awared to Takeshi Yamamoto for the paper entitled 'Détente or Integration? EC Response to Soviet Policy Change towards the Common Market, 1970-1975'. Yamamot was at the time was a PhD researcher at the International History Department of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Their working disseration was 'The Road to the CSCE, 1969-73: Britain, France and Germany'. 

HEIRS Committee members were tasked with selecting four of the best papers, which were forwarding to a panel of leading historians. For this year's competition the judges were: Professor Gérard Bossuat (Université de Cergy-Pontoise), Prof. Robert Gildea ( University of Oxford), Dr Piers Ludlow (London School of Economics) and Prof. Wolfgang Schmale (Universität Wien).

As part of the prize, our colleagues in the RICHIE network invited Yamamoto to a roundtable entitled 'Cold War and European Integration'. This took plce on 6 October 2006 at the Sciences-Po Pari. It was chaired by Professor Maurice Vaisse.