BALV3500 EU Law and Politics Course description

This course discusses the most important legal aspects and political dynamics of the European Union (EU). The focus is on its legal foundations, institutional structure and decision-making processes. At the end of the course the student will be able to understand and critically assess core issues arising in the field of EU Law, the development of the EU’s political system, and the main political dynamics that characterize the European context. Emphasis is given also to the EEA Agreement and to the relationship between Norway and the European Union.

None

Knowledge

The student will have knowledge of:

• The origins of the European Union: historical development, Treaties, theories of European integration

• Topics of EU Law: values and aims of the Union, legal sources, effects of EU legislation in the national systems, main provisions in the field of the internal market, the EEA Agreement, etc.

• The functioning of the EU institutional framework: composition and competences of the institutions, procedures, inter-institutional relations and main political dynamics that characterize the decision-making processes

• Key challenges to the EU’s political system: democracy and differentiation

• Topical issues: relationship between Norway and the EU, current issues in the European context

Skills

The student will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the European integration process from both a legal and a political perspective

• Solve basic legal questions of EU Law independently, identifying and utilizing relevant legal sources

• Analyze and illustrate how the institutional structure and decision-making processes of the EU work, considering both legal and political aspects

• Discuss critically key challenges and current issues in the European context

General competence

The student will be able to:

• Understand and critically assess core issues in the European context

• Use specialized terminology and write on the topics studied

The course is based on lectures, group work, assignments, and literature.

The students, working individually or in groups, are required to submit a written work of maximum 1200 words. The groups, topics and other aspects will be decided by the lecturer and announced on Canvas during the course. Approval is a condition for being allowed to take the exam. In case the submission is not approved, the student is given a new deadline for a new submission. If the new submission is not approved, then the student is not admitted to the exam.

The exam in the course is a home exam over a period of 3 hours.

The candidates can write their answers in English or Norwegian.

• Dictionary (monolingual and bilingual)

• Legal acts and Court decisions (also specific parts): TEU, TFEU, EEA Agreement, directives, regulations, decisions of the CJEU, etc.

Books, chapters, papers and slides are not allowed.

Graded scale A-F.

All the exam papers will be assessed by an internal examiner. A selection of at least 25% of the exam papers will be assessed by an external examiner. An external examiner will also be used when there is doubt about whether an exam paper should be awarded a pass grade. The grades awarded to exam papers assessed by the external examiner will be used to determine the level of all exam papers.

Diego Praino