Debating the Future of European Integration

Course goals

Learning goals 
After completing this course students are able to: 

• Goal 1: Understand and demonstrate knowledge of the specific characteristics of the European Union and its policies. 
• Goal 2: Identify relevant actors and ideas that influence European Union policies and European integration. 
• Goal 3: Understand the diversities and geographies at different levels that affect European Union policies and the European integration process. 
• Goal 4: Apply basic skills of research, analysis, and argumentation to questions of European union politics, policies and European integration. 

The course consists of the following parts/grading components: 
  
Debates and Position Papers 30% 
Throughout the course, we will be debating about various timely issues affecting the future of the EU, e.g. the war in Ukraine and energy security, the challenges of a common Migration and Asylum policy, populism and national politics versus EU discourses, the consequences of the Brexit. In these debates, we take both a policy and governance perspective and a geographical and scales perspective. In groups or individually, you prepare a one-page position paper to use as a starting point for your participation in the debates 
  
Policy brief 30% 
In a policy brief (also referred to as an advocacy brief), you will address a specific public policy issue faced by EU (for example a directive or regulation currently under discussion). The purpose of the policy brief is to advice (and convince) the EU Commission to adopt a particular course of action. At the end of the semester, you will present your brief to the class. 
  
Exam 40% 
The exam covers the assigned readings (course book and articles) and the lectures. 
 

Relationship between grading components and learning goals 

• Midterm exam (40%): this tests your knowledge of the required literature and lecture material of Part 1 of the course (course goal 1). It also tests your ability to analyze and put forward argumentation (course goal 1 and 2). 
• Debates and Position Papers (30%): the debates and the position papers that you will prepare upfront test your skills of research, analysis and argumentation on specific topics of EU politics (course goal 1, 2, 3 and 4). 
• Policy brief (30%): the policy brief and its presentation test your knowledge of EU policies and your skills of research, analysis and argumentation of EU policies and policies (course goal 1, 2, 3 and 4). 

 
 
 

Content