LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY
Department of Management and Engineering
Political science
European Integration
Timetable
Spring 2016
- 2016-03-15
Coordinator: Mikael Rundqvist, 013-28 11 50
For rooms: see time edit
Week Date
14 Tuesday,
April 5
15 Wednesday,
April 13
16
17
Friday,
April 15
Tuesday,
April 19
Wednesday,
April 20
Wednesday,
April 27
Wednesday,
April 27
Thursday,
April 28
18
Friday,
April 29
Friday,
April 29
Monday,
May 2
Tuesday,
May 3
Time
10-12
10-12
10-12
10-12
10-12
10-12
13-15
12.00
10-12
13-15
9.00
16.00
Subject
Introduction to the EU and the course
The political system of the EU 1
The political system of the EU 2
The political system of the EU 3
Student presentations (EU-policies)
Seminar 1 The political system of the
EU
The political economy of the EU 1
The political economy of the EU 2
Hand in one page summary on challenges for the EU (LISAM
– “collaborative workspace”)
Seminar 2 The political economy of the
EU
Seminar 3 Challenges of the EU
Take-home exam begins
Take-home exam ends
LN = Lars Niklasson, 013-282541, lars.niklasson@liu.se
MR=Mikael Rundqvist, (examiner) 013-281150, mikael.x.rundqvist@liu.se
Teacher
MR
MR
MR
MR
MR
MR
LN
MR
MR
MR

Literature
Hix, Simon & Björn Höyland 2011: The political system of the EU, third edition, Palgrave
McMillan
McCann, Dermot 2010: The political economy of the European Union, Polity Press
Examination
The requirements of the course are (1) active participation in the seminars and (2) passing grade in the final home examination . The seminars are graded pass/fail. The final (overall) grade for the course is based on the grade for the home examination. Feedback in different forms will be given on the seminars and on the individually written paper (home exam).
Aim of the course
After completion of the course the student should be able to understand Europe’s major
Institutions’ and central actors, how they work and function
Seminar -1 Questions on Hix & Höyland (Wednesday April 20):
1. How are policies coordinated within the commission? (Think of mechanisms in the formal organization, as well as rules and procedures etc.)
2. In what ways are the EPP and PES an oligopoly?
3. National supreme courts have questioned the supremacy of European law; on what grounds?
4. Why is it difficult for European national parties to handle the relationship to the EU?
(why is it difficult for them to collaborate across the continent?)
5. One option for a more democratic EU would be to have an elected President, like the
US. What makes that a good idea and what makes it a bad idea?
6. What would the likely consequences be if the Commission was forbidden to work closely with organized interests?
7. Hix discusses more or less similar theoretically grounded explanations for all policies.
Which are they and which one seems most convincing to you? Why?
Seminar 2 - Questions on the book by McCann (Friday April 29):
1. The book is designed to tell us if the European Union makes its member states more market-oriented. How is the study designed? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this design?
2. What is ”institutional diversity”? Give some examples.
3. How was the Rome treaty interpreted and implemented before 1980 and after?
4. What is required by the EU in the field of competition policy? What can explain changes in the member states?
5. What are the main instruments applied by the EU in the field of financial markets?
Have banks changed in ways that were expected? Why/why not?
6. Why is the scope of the European Employment Policy limited? Which instruments are applied by the EU? What are the effects of these instruments and why?
7. What are the instruments used by the EU in the field of collective bargaining? What are their effects?

Seminar 3: On challenges for the EU (Friday April 29)
1. What do you, as a group, think are the three main challenges facing the EU?
2. Why are they important challenges?
3. How can they be solved?
4. Is it likely that they will be solved in the near future? Why/why not?