Face-to-face , second term, 30 hours of theory.

Second term
Thursday from 17:15 to 19:15 at 43 Botanique 5

English

The course aims at introducing the students to the study of the European Union (EU)
understood as a dynamic, integrated, complex, political system. By taking a bird's eye view, the
course will examine the process of European integration through the analysis of its various
development phases, from the origins of the Community path in the ‘40s and ‘50s, through the
gradual progress of building up a common European policy, to the evolution of the European
Union, its future prospects, but also disintegration, with the United Kingdom leaving the EU
(Brexit). Next, the course will analyse different theoretical approaches that allow us to
conceptualise the process of European integration and then zoom in on how the EU works, by
examining the institutions at the heart of the EU's decision-making process, and how their
decisions are translated into action. We will also explore some key policy areas of EU
competence, including the Single Market and free movement, the EU Agricultural and Foreign
& Security Policy. Finally, the course will discuss and pay critical attention to some of the
challenges that the EU has been experiencing, including the rise of populism, the discussion
around the EU's democratic deficit, interest representation.
Through in-class debates, the students will also have the opportunity to discuss together
various aspects related to the EU's functioning and role and reflect on how current challenges
and crises could shape the future of EU politics.


LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, students will have:
• been presented with an overview of the history and main theories of European integration
• been provided with a detailed illustration of the EU's institutions, decision-making process,
and policymaking.
• been provided with the opportunity to engage in discussions about the evolution, historic
drivers, and barriers of EU politics, as well as the numerous challenges it has faced and
continues to face
• acquired analytical tools to connect EU politics to broader societal global phenomena

For the Bachelor in Law :

For the Bachelor in Law (Evening Programme) :

For the Bachelor in History :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Letters : General :

For the Bachelor in Modern Languages and Letters: German, Dutch and English :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General (Evening Programme) :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :

For the Bachelor in Law :

For the Bachelor in Law (Evening Programme) :

For the Bachelor in Philosophy :

COURSE CALENDAR

Part I: Introduction
SESSION 1 - 9 February 2023: Introduction to the European Union
Themes: Presentation of the syllabus and guidelines for the course. Introduction: seven basic
questions about the EU

SESSION 2 - 16 February 2023: History of EU integration
Themes: History of EU institutionalisation: deepening and widening patterns
Compulsory readings: Schirmann S. 2020, “The Schuman Plan: some reflections, 70 years on”,
European Observatory on Memories (EUROM); Schirmann S. 2020, “The Schuman
Declaration”, EUROM
In-class debate: Are Schuman's ideas still relevant in today's EU?
Part II: Theoretical approaches to European integration

SESSION 3 - 23 Feb 2023: Theories of EU integration (1/2)
Themes: ‘Dominant' theories: neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism
Compulsory reading: Hooghe, L. and G. Marks 2019, “Grand theories of European integration
in the twenty-first century”, Journal of European Public Policy, 26:8, pp. 1113-1133
In-class debate: Which theory better explains the crises that the EU has experienced?

SESSION 4 - 2 Mar 2023: Theories of EU integration (2/2)
Themes: ‘Other' theories: new-institutionalism, multi-level governance, social constructivism,
feminist perspectives
Compulsory reading: Lombardo, E. and J. Kantola 2019, “European Integration and
Disintegration: Feminist Perspectives on Inequality and Social Justice”, Journal of Common
Market Studies, 57, pp. 62-76.
In-class debate: What added value do feminist perspectives bring to the understanding of EU
(dis)integration?
Part III: Institutional set-up and decision-making

SESSION 5 - 9 Mar 2023: Focus on the supranational level
Themes: The European Commission, EU competencies and subsidiarity; the European
Parliament
Compulsory reading: Nugent N. and M. Rhinard 2019 “The political roles of the European
Commission”, Journal of European Integration 41:2, pp. 203-220
In-class debate: Has the power of the European Commission increased over time?

SESSION 6 - 16 Mar 2023: Focus on the intergovernmental level
Themes: The European Council and the Council of the EU
Compulsory reading: Fabbrini S. and U. Puetter 2016, “Integration without
supranationalisation: studying the lead roles of the European Council and the Council in post-
Lisbon EU politics”, Journal of European Integration 38:5, pp. 481-495
In-class debate: How have the roles of the European Council and Council of the European
Union evolved over time?

SESSION 7 - 23 Mar 2023: EU decision-making processes
Theme: other EU institutions; variation of EU Policy Processes
Compulsory reading: Rhinard M. 2019 “The crisisification of policy-making in the European
Union”, Journal of Common Market Studies, pp. 1-18
Guest speaker: Jessica Machacova, Accredited Parliamentary Assistant, Greens/EFA at the
European Parliament
Part IV: EU Policies

SESSION 8 - 30 Mar 2023: EU internal policies
Themes: Economic affairs, agriculture, justice & home affairs and environment
Compulsory reading: Jordan A. and V. Gravey “EU environmental policy at 50: retrospect and
prospect” in Jordan A. and V. Gravey (eds.) 2021, Environmental Policy in the EU, Routledge
In-class debate: What environmental policy challenges are likely to emerge in the next decades
and how likely are they to be overcome by the EU?

SESSION 9 - 20 April 2023: EU external policies (1/2)
Themes : EU-Africa relations
In-class debate: What future for the relations between the EU and Africa?

SESSION 10 - 27 April: EU external policies (2/2)
Themes: Foreign and Security policy; Trade policy
Guest speaker: Leda Giuffrida, Policy Coordinator - Trade co-ordinator for bilateral Trade
Relations with Mexico, DG TRADE
Part V: Representation and participation at EU level

SESSION 11 - 04 May 2023: Euroscepticism and populism in the EU
European Civil Society and the EU (1/2)
Themes: Euroscepticism, Brexit, Populism in the EU; Civil Society participation to the EU
Guest speaker: Irene Rosales Jiménez, Policy and Campaigns Officer, European Women's Lobby

SESSION 12 - 11 May 2023: European Civil Society and the EU (2/2)
General conclusions
Themes: Civil Society participation to the EU; general conclusions
Guest speakers: Riccardo Roba, Senior Policy and Advocacy Adviser, CONCORD

The course rests on the following teaching methods: lectures; readings or listenings associated
to the classes; active learning through in-class debate on specific topics related to the classes
and participation by external professionals.
Each class includes a lecture by the professor, one reading to be prepared by the students or
participation by professionals, and debate moderated by the lecturer. External professionals
from EU institutions and NGOs in Brussels will their expertise on specific topics and debate
with the students.
To complement the classes, students are expected to study selected chapters of the following
textbook: Cini M. and N. Pérez-Solórzano Borragán 2022, European Union Politics, 7th edition,
Oxford University Press. Chapters: 2 - 3 (History), 4 - 5 - 6 (Theories), 10 - 11 - 12 (Institutions),
16 (Policy-making), 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 (Policies). The book is available at USL-B library.
The lecturer also encourages weekly readings of and listenings to EU news in English (see
“Additional media sources” section).

Three-hour long written exam (in English) consisting of:
- 1 broad question on one of the topics covered during the lectures - 2 pages (10 points);
- 2 targeted questions to which students will have to respond concisely, on the lectures
and readings - 1 page per question (5 points per question)

FURTHER USEFUL READINGS (MOSTLY AVAILABLE AT USL-B LIBRARY)

Abels, G. 2021 The Routledge handbook of gender and EU politics, London: Routledge
Bhambra, G. 2022, “A decolonial project for Europe” in Journal of Common Market Studies 60:2
pp. 229-244
Bigo D., Diez Th., Fanoulis E., Rosamond B. and Y. A. Stivachtis (eds.) 2021, The Routledge
Handbook of Critical European Studies, London: Routledge (NOT YET AVAILABLE)
Bulmer, S. Parker, O. Bache, I. George, S. and Ch. Burns (eds.) 2020, Politics in the European
Union, Oxford University Press
Coman, R. Crespy, A. and V. A. Schmidt (eds.) 2020, Governance and Politics in the Post-Crises
European Union, Cambridge University Press.
Greenwood J. 2017, Interest Representation in the European Union, 4th ed. London: Palgrave
Heine, S. 2021, Souveraineté européenne: réalisme et réformisme radical, Louvain-la-neuve:
Academia-L'Harmattan
Hix S. and B. Høyland 2022, The political system of the European Union, 4th ed. London:
Bloomsbury
Hodson D., Puetter U., Saurugger S. and J. Peterson 2022, The Institutions of the European
Union, 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Labareda, J. 2021 Towards a just Europe: a theory of distributive justice for the European Union,
Manchester University Press.
Nugent N. 2017 “The Government and Politics of the European Union”, Palgrave McMillan, 8th
ed. (NOT YET AVAILABLE)
Orsini, A. and E. Kavvatha (eds.) 2021, EU Environmental Governance, Routledge
Raimundo A. 2021, “From the Treaty of Rome to Cotonou”, in Haastrup, T., Mah, L. and N.
Duggan (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of EU-Africa relations, New York: Routledge
Riddervold, M. Trondal, J. and A. Newsome (eds.) 2021, The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises,
Palgrave Macmillan.
Saurugger, S. 2020, théories et concepts de l'intégration européenne, 2nd ed. Presses de
Sciences Po.
Sebhatu R. W. 2021, “Applying postcolonial approaches to studies of Africa-EU relations”, in
Haastrup, T., Mah, L. and N. Duggan (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of EU-Africa relations,
New York: Routledge
Wallace, H., Pollack, M. A., Roederer-Rynning Ch. and A. R. Young (eds.) 2020, Policy-Making
in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 8th ed.

LIST OF ACADEMIC JOURNALS WITH A FOCUS ON THE EUROPEAN UNION

Journal of European Public Policy: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rjpp20
Journal of European Integration: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/geui20
Journal of Common Market Studies: https://www.onlinelibrarywiley.com/journal/14685965
East European Politics: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fjcs21
European Union Politics: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eup
West European Politics: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fwep20
European Foreign Affairs Review:
https://kluwerlawonline.com/Journals/European+Foreign+Affairs+Review/412
ADDITIONAL ONLINE SOURCES ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION
6
ARENA Centre for European Studies: https://www.sv.uio.no/arena/english/
Centre for European Policy Studies: https://www.ceps.eu
Eurobarometer: https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/screen/home
European Movement international: https://europeanmovement.eu/who-we-are/
European Policy Center: https://epc.eu/en/
European Union Website: http://europa.eu
Publication Office of the European Union: https://op.europa.eu/en/home
ADDITIONAL MEDIA SOURCES IN ENGLISH
EURACTIV: https://www.euractiv.com/ - ex: The Brief, Beyond the Byline podcast
EU Observer : https://euobserver.com/ - ex : EU Scream podcast
Politico EU: https://www.politico.eu - ex : POLITICO's EU Confidential podcast
The Economist: https://www.economist.com
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international