LL4BH: Law and Government of the European Union
Teacher responsible
Prof Floris de Witte, 7.03 CKK
Pre-requisites
Basic knowledge (at an undergraduate level) of EU law or the EU institutional structure is useful. It is advised that students access textbooks in EU law where they feel that their basic knowledge is insufficient to follow the class (Dawson & De Witte, ‘EU Law and Governance’ (CUP 2022).
Course content
How is the European Union governed? This course will discuss this question in both a descriptive and a normative fashion. In descriptive terms, the course looks at the way in which the EU institutions are structured, how they function internally, and the powers that they have. It looks at the role of the legal system, the way EU law is enforced, and some of the current crisis of that system, such as Brexit and the rule of law crisis in Hungary and Poland. This descriptive discussion forms the backdrop for the (more central) normative discussion: how should Europe be governed? Is the EU democratic? Should it be? What is the appropriate role of law in the integration process? Should Member States have more or less power to challenge EU measures? What will the future of the EU look like? And what should it look like?
Students will be challenged to think about the EU as an institutional structure in which both law and politics play a crucial role. Really understanding the EU requires knowledge of both areas as well as knowledge of their interaction. At no other time in the development of the EU has the interaction between law and politics so fundamentally affected the direction of the integration process. The coming years will see fundamental changes to the EU’s structure; which are informed as much by political dynamics as by legal mechanisms. This course prepares you to fully understand those changes – and allow you to analyse critically both their normative content and institutional structure.
Teaching
10 x 2 hours seminar in AT. The purpose of the class is for students to analyse the balance between the legal and political dimensions of European integration. The reading list for this course includes both articles written by lawyers and political scientists. To understand the governance of the EU, you will need to understand both. But do not worry about statistics or models: you are only expected to understand the outcomes, not the methodology or statistical analysis.
Formative coursework
Students are expected to produce one 1,500 word formative essay during the course. The exam format is an examination in May (2 questions out of 6).
Course content
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Week 1 |
What’s the EU for? |
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Week 2 |
Institutions & Power in the EU |
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Week 3 |
Law-Making in the EU |
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Week 4 |
Democracy in the EU |
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Week 5 |
Enforcing EU law |
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Week 6 |
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Week 7 |
Judicial System |
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Week 8 |
Crisis 1: Rule of Law |
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Week 9 |
Crisis 2: Brexit |
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Week 10 |
Differentiated Integration & Reform |
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Week 11 |
Future of the EU |
