"Deirdre Curtin is Professor of International and European Governance at the Utrecht School of Governance, University of Utrecht and Professor of European Law at the University of Amsterdam (since 2008). Previously she held the Chair of the Law of International Organisations at the Law Faculty in Utrecht (1992-2002) She is a member of the Royal Dutch Academy for Science (KNAW) and in 2007 was awarded the Spinoza Prize by the Dutch Academy of Science for ""outstanding contribution to the development and promotion of international and European law and for her groundbreaking visions concerning the governance of international organisations such as the European Union. "" She has written extensively on issues relating to the constitutional and institutional development of the European Union and since 2003 has led a Research Group of political scientists and lawyers on ""Enhancing Democracy in the EU "" within the EU financed Network of Excellence, CONNEX."