About the course

Block A - The Political Economy of European Integration of the course aims at introducing students to the main economic aspects of the current development of the European Union and its policies. It will touch on the institutional, political and historical background of the process of European integration and will then cover some simple elements of the economic analysis of the policies and prospects for the European Union. Some recent hot topics in the international policy agenda like the economic impacts of Brexit, recovery from Covid-19 and economic consequences of new geo-political tensions between the US and China will also be covered. Particular emphasis is laid upon the geographical foundations of these themes, at various spatial scales in Europe: supranational, national and subnational (e.g. regional, local, urban) levels.

The course is traditionally based on close interactions with the lecturers and class teachers, and some high-level external speakers will also be invited to offer additional insights on the practical functioning of the European Union.