European Union Institutions and Politics aims at giving a good understanding of the polity, politics and policies of the European Union from its beginning to the present. Much emphasis is put on the institutional development towards an ever closer union and the conflicts created by the constant enlargement of the EU. The theoretical perspective combines intergovernmental federalist and supragovernmental functionalist approaches to the understanding of European integration.

The first part deals with the history and institutional development of the European Union from its very beginning as an intergovernmental economic community in the 1950s to its supragovernmental and constitutional structure as a political union today.

The second part is focused on the political processes and politicisation of the European Union and takes as its point of departure the changes of its institutional structures and functions from the introduction of the Treaty on European Union in 1993 until the European Constitution agreement of 2009.

The third part brings an analysis of the most important policy areas of the European Union and its member states, such as the common agricultural policy, the structural and regional policy, cohesion, labour market and social policies, economic and monetary union, common foreign and security policy and research and development policy.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

- Discuss the history and institutional development of the European Union (EU) from its beginning as an intergovernmental economic community in the 1950s to its present supragovernmental and constitutional structure as a political union.

- Present the basic theories of European integration, and be familiar with the political processes and politicization of the European Union.

- Critically analyze and understand how the EU is functioning as a political system, and provide an overview of the most important policy areas of the EU and its member states.

Form: Lectures and seminars

Hours per week: approximately 4

Total number of hours: 24