Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2014 – 2015)
Institutional and Political Aspects of the European Integration
Professor: Youri Devuyst (email: Youri.Devuyst@vub.ac.be)
Aims of the course
This course focuses on the governance structures (the institutional aspects) of the European
Union. The purpose is to equip the students with the necessary knowledge and insight to
enable them to independently understand and interpret evolutions in the European
integration process.
The topic is approached in an interdisciplinary manner: insights from history, politics, law
and economics are essential to the understanding of European integration.
Study material
Students take note during the lectures and class discussions.
We will not be following any textbook. There are also no slides that spell out what is
discussed in class. Textbooks or slides that perfectly correspond to “what needs to be
known” are artificial constructions and are far removed from “real life” situations, where it
is unlikely that one book will contain all the answers and resolve all problems.
To help digest the information provided during the lectures students may consult Neill
Nugent, The Government and Politics of the European Union (Palgrave Macmillan). It is a
helpful source to accompany the class discussions (but – as said before – in class, we
neither “follow” the structure, nor the content of this book).
In the end, students are expected to create their own synthesis by integrating their lecture
notes with the readings. The task of synthesising the study material should be guided by the
exam questions that can be found at the back of this course outline.
The course thus requires that students play an active part in developing their final study
material. This creative task is intended to stimulate students in the active process of
mastering the subject matter.
Assessment
Students take a final exam at the end of the semester.
The exam is limited to the material covered during the lectures (i.e. to what was actually
discussed in class). The list of possible exam questions is provided at the end of this course
outline. Students are therefore asked, not to absorb their study materials in a rather abstract
manner, but to prepare specifically for the announced questions.
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Students have 1 hour to provide a written answer to one of the announced questions. The
written stage of the exam is followed by an individual discussion with the professor. The
oral part serves to provide an immediate feedback on the written work, allowing also for a
further discussion on the subject.
Students who fail to answer the initial question may ask for a second question. In that case,
the maximum grade is 13/20 (in case of an excellent reply to the second question).
The exam is “closed book” (no books, treaties or dictionaries can be used). The reasons are
that a number of basic elements simply need to be “known”, and this course essentially
covers only such “basics”. Furthermore, in real administrative/political life, preparing for
major meetings implies studying one’s file in a detailed manner (often including “learning
by heart”).
Course content
A. Historical Perspectives on European Integration
1. The first post-war attempts to create European organisations (Organisation
for European Economic Cooperation and Council of Europe)
2. The creation of the European Communities (ECSC, EEC, Euratom)
-
Nugent, 19-26
3. The evolution in EU basic treaties (from the Treaty of Paris to the Treaty of
Lisbon)
-
Nugent, 27-29; 53-97
4. The evolution in EU membership (from 6 to 28 Member States and beyond)
-
Nugent, 33-50
5. The EU and its relationship with the neighbours: the European
Neighbourhood Policy
B. The Fundamentals of the EU’s Institutional Order
1. The principle of conferral and EU primary law
2. The division of competences between the EU and its Member States
(exclusive, shared, supplementary and coordination competences)
3. The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality
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We will discuss Part B by using several Articles from the EU Treaties (that will be
distributed in class). Students should take notes. Those who are unable to attend
class could have recourse to Paul Craig & Grainne de Burca, EU Law; Text, Cases,
and Materials (Oxford University Press, 5th edition, 2011), 73-120
C. The EU’s Political Institutions and Decision-Making
1. The European Council
-
Nugent, 161-178
2. The European Commission
-
Nugent, 105-137
3. The Council of Ministers
-
Nugent, 139-160
4. The European Parliament
-
Nugent, 179-206
5. EU law-making: the ordinary legislative procedure (co-decision)
-
Nugent, 307-322
6. EU law-making: the result - regulations, directives, decisions
7. EU delegated and implementing acts
D. The EU’s Court System and Basic Legal Principles
-
Nugent, 207-225
E. The EU and the World
1. European attempts to create a common foreign and defence policy
-
Nugent, 376-393
2. The EU and international (trade) agreements with third countries
-
Nugent, 371-376
F. The EU in crisis: a perspective of long-term history
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Exam questions
-
Compare the attempts to create European organisations in 1945-1949 (OEEC, Council
of Europe …) with the creation of the European Communities in the 1950s. What are
the essentials of the Community method in comparison with the intergovernmental
method?
-
Analyse the process of Treaty-change in the EU. Analyse the history of the basic
Treaties on which the EC/EU is build from the 1950s till today. Analyse the origins of
the European Community Treaties (Treaties of Paris and Rome). Analyse the
significance of the Single European Act. Analyse the significance of the Treaty of
Maastricht. Analyse the significance of the Treaty of Lisbon.
-
Analyse the central role of “the German question” in the evolution of European
integration (integration of defeated Germany in the Western system, ECSC, failure of
the EDC and the Paris Agreements, German unification and its consequences, EMU,
Germany and the financial crisis).
-
Analyse the impact of the end of the Cold War on the development of the European
Union (German unification, Treaty of Maastricht, enlargement).
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Analyse the history of EC/EU membership from the 1950s till today. Analyse today's
EU’s accession/enlargement conditions and process. What is your perspective on the
future geographical scope of the EU?
-
Analyse the origins and structure of the European Neighbourhood Policy. What are the
main challenges posed by the EU’s relations with its neighbours?
-
Provide an overview of the division of competence between the EU and the Member
States. What are the exclusive EU competences, what are the shared EU competences,
what are the EU’s supporting and coordinating powers? What are the principles of
conferral, subsidiarity and proportionality?
-
What are the types of EU law: primary and secondary law; delegated and implementing
acts.
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The European Council, the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the
European Parliament: analyse the evolution in the composition, functions and decisionmaking of each of these EU institutions
-
What is the EU’s co-decision or “ordinary legislative procedure”? How does it work?
What are the moments for interest-representation (lobbying) during the EU’s legislative
process?
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What are the basic principles of the EU’s Court system and legal order? What is the link
between the concepts of primacy, direct effect and preliminary rulings?
-
Analyse the historical process of the European attempts to build a common foreign and
defence policy (from 1945 till today).
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Analyse the EU’s vast network of preferential trade relations with other regions and
countries throughout the world.
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Analyse the EU’s response to the financial crisis. What does this tell you about the EU’s
future?
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