Sylabus
Weekly structure of the course:
The readings will be recommended and assigned to every lesson. The lecturer will prepare and distribute selected articles. 1st week
Introduction to the course. The relation between European studies and the studies of the EU. International organizations and theories of integration. European geopolitics. Terminology and bibliography.
The history of the idea of Europe. Historical survey of the attempts to organize Europe. 2nd week
History of European integration process 1945 - 1989: Economic reconstruction and Cooperation. Fathers of Europe: Winston Churchill and others. Security and the Cold War. The road from Rome 1957 to Maastricht 1991/92. 3rd week
The road from Rome 1957 to Maastricht 1991/92. The Maastricht treaty. 4th week
The challenges of 1989: The decision to enlarge towards Central and Eastern Europe and the consequence: Radical discussions on the limits of the EU. The controversy between eurooptimists and eurosceptics. EU enlargement policy. The discussions about the " finality " of the EU. Overcoming the division of Europe.
The case study: Cyprus 5th week
The institutional framework of the EU and its history: the European Council, the European Commission, the European Parliament, European Court of Justice.
The results of the elections to European Parliament in June 2004 and resulting questions.
The elections in June 2009. 6th week
Selection of the topics for the final papers.
Mid-term test.
The questions linked to the ratification process of the new Reform Treaty for Europe in the member states. French and Dutch referendums concerning the former Constitution for Europe. 7th week
Evaluation of the midterm test
Economic policies of the EU: the EU budget, Single market and Single currency, Agricultural policy, Regional policy, Environmental policy. 8th week
Transitional conditions for the new member states. The perspective of the future enlargement:
Croatia, Turkey. The question of the province of Kosovo. 9th week
Foreign and security policy of the European Union.
Reading: The Reform Treaty - selected pages concerning the CFDP.
External economic relations. Relations with the United States. Relations with the Russian Federation. 10th week
The CAP - The Common Agricultural Policy 11th week
The former Constitution for Europe 2004. Main issues of the present discussions: federal or confederal Europe ? The future of the ratification process - Reform Treaty Process.
Reading: Survey of international press articles published in November 2009 regarding the EU ( selected press articles will be prepared and distributed by the professor).
Final written exam. 12th week
European citizenship and identity ? Opinions of some prominent European thinkers.
Presentation of the final papers.
Evaluation of the course.
Anotace
The very existence and the radical enlargement of the European Union is becoming one of the defining events of the early twenty-first century. This course will focus on different aspects of European integration process.
The students will get acquainted with history and ideology of European unification process which still play an important role in both philosophical and political discussions of many Europeans. The emergence and transformation of political institutions is the essential part of the class. The collapse of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe 1989 posed new challenges, culminated in the decision to massively enlarge which has presented new problems: the necessity to write a comprehensive Treaty for Europe. The analysis of the new Reform Treaty for Europe and the process of its ratification will be one of the central parts of the course.
Special attention will be dedicated to the new institutions of the EU.