The article provides a general framework for a political sociology of “European studies” here defined as an array of academic initiatives designed with and for EU political and institutional actors. A review of this transnational academic research shows that the theories of European integration have emerged from Europe’s reforms which were instrumental to the development and consolidation of the EU political agenda. We argue that these close connections linking Europe’s academic and political entrepreneurs are not a transitory phenomenon but a constitutive and perennial feature of EU governance.