Since 2009, the EU and the Euro area in particular have experienced a sustained economic crisis that has mutated into social and political crises. In times of crisis, existing paradigms come under strain and a high level of contestation concerning the policy prescriptions tends to become manifest. Crises tend to act as focal points for institutional, policy and political change that leave significant legacies. Deep cleavages have developed between creditors and debtors, or between Europe’s core and its periphery/ies. In the current context of -ongoing discontent on behalf of EU citizens with the ways in which the origins and consequences of the crises affecting the EU and its member states are/have been managed by the political elites;-rising tensions and disintegration trends at the EU level and revival of nationalist retreat and populist opposition at the member state level;-and need for institutional, economic and political reform;It is imperative to fully grasp the magnitude and variety of the impact of the crisis, critically assess the proposed pathways and foster a discussion on new policies, approaches and whether there is a need for a paradigm shift in order to reinvigorate the European project. These challenges are at the core of the EUCRISI project which combines a public debate and a conference; the involvement of journalists in the debate in order to maximise the potential of their multiplier effect; the involvement of private sector representatives and representatives from civil society organisations in order to include a bottom up perspective on the challenges and opportunities to move the European project forward in inclusive ways; the involvement of students and young researchers; an academic publication in the form of an edited volume; a set of policy briefs of topic of high policy relevance; and a set of commentaries.