HISPANIC AND EUROPEAN STUDIES PROGRAM
An Introduction to the European Union
Fernando Guirao
fernando.guirao@upf.edu
Office: 20.227
DESCRIPTION: This course aims to provide U.S. students basic knowledge about the European Union (EU). It covers the four main areas of study concerning this topic: the historical evolution of the process of European integration, institutional set-up and specific policy-making procedures, basic economics issues at stake, and the state of EU’s main policies as of today.
INSTRUCTOR: Fernando Guirao
PREREQUISITES: None
METHOD OF PRESENTATION: The course is built on lectures by the instructor, class discussions of assigned readings and topics, and student presentations.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
REQUIRED WORK: The readings listed for a particular session must be completed BEFORE coming to class that day. Every student will submit two short essays on different topics and work towards a final research paper on any key policy of the European Union.
FORM OF ASSESSMENT:
Class participation: 15%
2 weekend essays: 20%
Midterm exam: 15%
Research paper: 15%
Final exam: 35%
NOTE: The list of readings for this course is subject to constant updating given the vitality of research and publications in the field.
CONTENT:
Introduction
Session 1
Introduction to the course: objectives, methodology, contents and organization
Rapid oral quiz about the EU as seen from the United States:
What do students think the European Union is?
First block: History and theory
Sessions 2 to 5
The historical process of European integration
Required reading:
Chapter 1 of Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 1-37.
The History Department of Leiden University maintains a good site on EU history in its broadest sense. The index also contains many links to European institutions, etc. Many original documents can be downloaded (e.g. the Treaty of Rome) from the following links: http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/rtg/res1/index.htm
Key dates of post-war economic integration in Western Europe can be downloaded from: http://www.hec.unil.ch/mbrulhar/Eurecon/euchron310.pdf
The European Union’s official history of European Integration can be found at: http://www.europa.eu.int/abc/history/index_en.htm
Recommended reading:
Derek W. Urwin, The Community of Europe. A History of European Integration since 1945, New York, Longman, 1991. Still the most adequate under-graduate textbook on the history of European integration up to 1990.
Session 2: The post-WWII Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1945-51
Session 3: The Golden Age of European Capitalism, 1951-73
Session 4: The European response to economic and political crisis, 1973-92
Session 5: The European response to globalisation, 1992-2005
Session 6
Theories of European integration
Required reading:
Chapter 1 (“Theories of European Integration”) of Stephen George & Ian Bache, Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 5-18.
Recommended reading:
Chapter 1 (“Theorizing European Integration”) of Andrew Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe, University College London, 1998, pp. 18-85.
First weekend written assignment (2-page essay):
Where does the European Union come from?
Second bloc: Institutions
Session 7
The EU institutional set-up
Required reading:
“The ‘Big Five’ Institutions”, in Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 38-59.
Chapter 18 (“The institutional architecture”) of Stephen George & Ian Bache, Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 213-232.
Descriptions of EU institutions (and much more) can be found on the European Parliament’s website: http://www.europarl.eu.int/factsheets/default_en.htm
Session 8
The European Commission. The European Council and the EU decision-making procedures
Required reading:
Chapter 19 (“The European Commission”) of Stephen George & Ian Bache, Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 233-245.
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm
“Decision making”, chapter 3 in Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 73-100.
Session 9
Integration through law: The role of the European Court of Justice
The construction of a common political space: The European Parliament
Required readings:
Damian Chalmers: “European Union Law”, in Ali M. El-Agraa (ed.), The European Union: History, Institutions, Economics and Policies, 2003, 7th ed., Prentice-Hall, pp. 49-71.
Chapter 21 (“The European Parliament”) of Stephen George & Ian Bache, Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 259-273.
http://www.europarl.eu.int/presentation/default_en.htm
Session 10
The draft EU Constitution
Required reading:
Summary of the Constitution adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 17/18 June 2004
The Constitution of Europe in an American Perspective: Armin von Bogdandy, “The European Constitution and European Identity: Potentials and Dangers of the IGC's Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe”, in Weiler and Eisgruber, eds., Altneuland: The EU Constitution in a Contextual Perspective, Jean Monnet Working Paper 5/04 http://www.jeanmonnetprogram.org/papers/04/040501-07.rtf
Second weekend assignment (2-page essay): How is in command in the EU?
Session 11
Mid-term exam
Third bloc: EU policies
Sessions 12 & 13
The Common Agricultural Policy
Required reading:
Chapter 8 of Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 211-241.
Recommended reading:
The common agricultural policy " a policy evolving with the times, European Commission (DG Agriculture), Brussels, 2004 http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/publi/caleaflet/cap_en.htm)
“How do industrial country agricultural policies affect developing countries?”, chapter 2 of IMF’s World Economic Outlook. Trade and Finance, September 2002 (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2002/02/index.htm)
Session 14
The creation of a Single Market: problems and effects
Required reading:
Chapter 4 (“Creating a Single European Market”) of Larry Neal & Daniel Barbezat, The Economics of the European Union and the Economies of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 70-87.
Session 15
European monetary co-operation previous to the EMU: the European Monetary System
Required reading:
Chapter 7 (“The European Monetary System: Deutsche Mark über Alles”) of Larry Neal & Daniel Barbezat, The Economics of the European Union and the Economies of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 141-170.
Session 16
The European Monetary Union. Fiscal Policy and the Stability Pact
Required readings
Chapter 14 (“The European Monetary Union”) of Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 357-378.
Chapter 15 (“Fiscal Policy and the Stability Pact”) of Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 381-400.
Recommended reading:
Co-ordination of economic policies in the EU: a presentation of key features of the main procedures, EURO Papers, No. 45, July 2002, European Commission, Brussels (http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/publications/euro_papers/europapers45_en.htm).
Session 17
European Labor Markets. Productivity convergence vis-à-vis the United States
Required reading:
Chapter 17 (“Economic Integration and Labour Market Institutions”) of Richard Baldwin & Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004, pp. 426-452.
“Facing the Challenge. The Lisbon strategy for growth and employment”, Report from the High Level Group chaired by Wim Kok, November 2004
http://europa.eu.int/comm/lisbon_strategy/pdf/2004-1866-EN-complet.pdf
Session 18
External Trade Relations. Common Foreign and Security Policy
Required readings:
Chapter 8 (“External Trade Policies: The EU and the Rest of the Word”) of Larry Neal & Daniel Barbezat, The Economics of the European Union and the Economies of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 171-88.
Making globalisation work for everybody. The European Union and world trade, European Commission, Brussels, December 2002 http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/publications/booklets/move/37/index_en.htm
Christopher Hill, “Renationalizing or Regrouping? EU Foreign Policy since 11 September 2001”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 2004, 42(1), pp. 143-163.
http://www.europa.eu.int/pol/cfsp/index_es.htm
Session 19
Class debate: Why do U.S. and the EU have many trade and foreign policy conflicts?
Student self-preparation debate
Session 20
Student presentation of research papers: “The European Union as seen from the United States: Partnership or Rivalry?”
Session 21
Final (written) exam
Session 22
General conclusions to be derived collectively by students:
What the European Union is and what the European Union is not.
Comments on the exam. Final grades.
REQUIRED READINGS:
Baldwin, Richard and Charles Wyplosz. The Economics of European Integration, London: Mc-Graw-Hill Education, 2004.
Chalmers, Damian. “European Union Law”, in The European Union: History, Institutions, Economics and Policies. Ed. Ali M. El-Agraa. London: Prentice-Hall (7th ed. 2003), pp. 49-71.
European Commission. Co-ordination of economic policies in the EU: a presentation of key features of the main procedures. Brussels: EURO Papers, No. 45, July 2002.
European Commission. Making globalisation work for everybody. The European Union and world trade. Brussels, December 2002
“Facing the Challenge. The Lisbon strategy for growth and employment”, Report from the High Level Group chaired by Wim Kok, November 2004
George, Stephen and Ian Bache. Politics in the European Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Hill, Christopher. “Renationalizing or Regrouping? EU Foreign Policy since 11 September 2001” in Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 42, No. 1 (2004), pp. 143-163.
International Monetary Fund. “How do industrial country agricultural policies affect developing countries?”, in World Economic Outlook. Trade and Finance, September 2002.
Moravcsik, Andrew. The Choice for Europe, London: University College London, 1998, pp. 18-85.
Neal Larry and Daniel Barbezat, The Economics of the European Union and the Economies of Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Summary of the Constitution adopted by the European Council in Brussels on 17/18 June 2004
Urwin, Derek W. The Community of Europe. A History of European Integration since 1945. New York: Longman, 1991.
von Bogdandy, Armin, “The European Constitution and European Identity: Potentials and Dangers of the IGC's Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe”, in Weiler and Eisgruber, eds., Altneuland: The EU Constitution in a Contextual Perspective, Jean Monnet Working Paper 5/04.
29-05-2006
© Universitat Pompeu Fabra
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