Course Overview

• First semester
• Second semester

First semester

During the first semester students will follow four compulsory basic courses each designed to explore the state-of-the-art developments in its own field. Whilst each course maintains its own unique identity, their content has been designed to produce an integrated interdisciplinary core of overlapping and mutually reinforcing conceptual tools of analysis. In addition there is a "methods course"and a European seminar.


Institutions of the EU
In this course we will focus on the European Union and its ever increasing importance as a multi level decision and policy making system. The aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the structure and functioning of the European Union by studying the most important theories with regard to European integration, the EU institutions and decision-making procedures and, the involvement of national governments in the EU’s policy process.

History of European Integration
This course will examine the creation of Europe’s post-war international institutional architecture. It will assess the contemporary interpretation of the problems they were supposed to address, the problems with which they were actually confronted and their degree of success in meeting them.

European Law
This course will examine the constitutional and administrative law of the EU in relation to national judicial structures and procedures. It will focus on a deeper level on the nature of the administrative, legislative and judicial decisions in selected EU-issue areas and anticipate the nature and direction of future developments.

Economics of the EU
This course will examine new developments in the theory of international economics, finance and trade. It will concentrate on subjects as the common market, agricultural regimes and optimal currency areas which are particularly relevant for EU’s recent development.

Contemporary Problems, Sources and Methods in EU Research
This course is in two parts. One part consists of a series of classes on qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, and will include a 'hands-on' inrtoduction to statitsice. A second component will take the form of a series of "how to" classes addressing problems of research and research design. During the first semester students will be expected to write a fully annotated essay on the state of research in the subject area of their eventual dissertation. Students will be introduced to the libraries and depositaries in both Leiden and the Hague.

 
European Seminar
This course will run on a fortnightly basis throughout the two semesters. The guests at these seminars will either be leading academics who will be asked to discuss their research or leading politicians or officials from national government or international organisations who will be asked to discuss aspects of current affairs. In the second semester, these seminars will also be used for students to present their dissertation work.

Second semester

During the second semester students will choose three intensive seminar courses from a range of possible choices. The exact range of courses offered will depend on the student numbers and the choice will be made on the basis of consultation with students and on the availability/commitments of the staff. At the moment, the degree offers a choice of ten specialist options, but that number will increase in 2009-10 as the course continues to expand (details will be made available as soon as they are known). These courses will all be problem-oriented and interdisciplinary in nature, although each student may choose his or her own disciplinary accent within the written papers. As far as possible, these courses will be taught by practitioners who are brought in from outside the university. They include former ministers, members of parliament, ex-MEPs, present or former high ministerial functionaries, members of government advisory bureaus and a member of the supreme court. Their practical expertise offers a valuable added dimesion to the more academic expertise aquired in the first semester. The courses will focus on the following issue areas:

Economic and Monetary Union
The course aims at introducing students to the Economic and Monetary Union. EMU is a dynamic project, both in terms of additional new players (enlargement) as in terms of evolving rules of the game (e.g. the stability and growth pact). It is hoped that, by the end of this course, students will be able to follow and appreciate the main policy debates on EMU. Attention will be given to identifying key players and finding key documents. The course will subsequently deal with:

• The basic rules of the game of EMU (their origins and rationale)
• Monetary policy (the European Central Bank’s aims and factual behaviour)
• Fiscal Policy (the stability and growth pact, the Lisbon strategy, tax harmonisation)
• Enlargement (ERM II, entry conditions)

Economic and Social Policy
The purpose of the module about European social and economic policy is to get an overview of the developments in the sphere of European economic cooperation and social legislation. The main question is, what is the relationship between these two developments? Why did the European Community start with social policy? What were the main objectives of the European social policy? Did the European social policy keep the same pace as the European economic cooperation? What are the competences of the EU on social policy? In this respect we will discuss the instruments of the EU for the development of social policy, such as the social dialogue, the open method of coordination, the role of the European Court of Justice and the contents of the Treaty on the European Union. One of the items to be discussed will be the future of European social policy: what should be the objective of social policy at European level with the last enlargement of the EU, combined with the progress in European economic and monetary integration?

EU Enlargement

This course examines the nature, dynamics and impact of EU enlargement on the EU itself and on (candidate) member states. It aims to offer students insights into:

• the historical background and theoretical frameworks and concepts for explaining the EU’s continuing expansion towards new member states
• the legal, institutional and political (negotiating) procedures and policies that have become part and parcel of the EU’s ‘standard’ enlargement policy
• the economic, administrative, agricultural and budgetary dimensions of enlargement and accession

Foreign and Security Policy

The course aims at defining the scope and limitations of CFSP and ESDP in the double context of continuing European integration and changing transatlantic relations. It will trace the historical developments from Western European Union and European Political Co-operation to the pillar structure of the European Union and to the draft European Constitution. Attention will be paid to operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Afghanistan and Iraq as case studies and to European attempts at ‘autonomous’ crisis management. At the conceptual level the course will focus on the relationship between ‘commutautarian’ integration and intergovernmental co-operation and the modalities of ‘closer co-operation’ and ‘constructive abstention’ In addition, the different solidarity clauses will be discussed including those in the constitution, as well as the European Defence Agency, which will combine requirements, research and technology, procurement and evaluation, and possible scenarios for European action. Another aspect will be the international parliamentary assemblies.

Refugees, Migration and Justice

The aim of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the structure, the functioning and the prospects of the common EU asylum and migration policy. This policy will be studied within the context of the area of freedom, security and justice. We will focus on immigration policy, on asylum policy and we will also examine the legal instruments. Part of the course will entail a case-study of an EU directive.

External Economic Relations of the EU
The aim is to introduce to the students the international economic environment of the EU and the position that the EU occupies in this environment. To that end, after a discussion of the phenomenon of globalisation and some basic features of the world economy of today, the rules governing the multilateral trade system of the WTO will be discussed. Furthermore, the external economic competences of the EU, and the main features of the common commercial policy will be dealt with, as well as the relation between EU and WTO.
The course will further elaborate on the developments in the WTO since its creation in 1995, and more especially the results of the Ministerial Conferences of Seattle, Doha, Cancún and Hong Kong and the position of the EU in these negotiations. In this framework, also the position of developing countries in the WTO will be taken into account.

Agricultural and Rural Development
The aim of the course is to offer the students insight into agriculture and rural development in Europe as well as into the principles and evolution of EU ’s Common Agricultural Policy. Attention will be paid to

• The structure of agriculture in the EU and its position in the European (rural) economy
• The original market and price policies as developed in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80 ’s
• The reasons why it is changed into forms of direct since the 1990 's
• The current state of affairs after Agenda 2000 and the Midterm Review 2003
• Current issues like the reform proposals for sugar and the consequences of the possible accession of Turkey
• The links between the Common Agricultural Policy, the WTO and the EU budget
• The increasing interests for food safety, food quality, environment, animal welfare and rural development

Russia and the EU

Russia has a special relationship with the European Union in the form of a strategic partnership. However, as the rhetoric begins to resemble to 'cold war' dialogue more than that between potential allies this seems hard to believe. This course examines the increasingly strained relationship between Russia and the EU where challenges on regional security and energy supplies aggravate the decision-making context. However, neither the EU nor the Kremlin are decision-making monoliths and the threat perception varies within each. This course deepens students' appreciation of the world as seen from the Russian perspective as well as the range of responses available to Western European countries.


Turkey and the EU (2008-9 only)

This course is offered jointly to students of the MA in European Union Studies and of the MA in Turkish Studies. It aims to introduce students to the political, economic and cultural dimensions of Turkey’s integration with European Union. In addition to all the practical problems related to Turkeys size and relative poverty, Turkish integration and accession goes straight to the heart of debates over European identity. Studying the Turkish case offers us a powerful vehicle for examining the key questions surrounding EU enlargement and integration.Moreover, Turkish integration can be viewed as an instructive case for other states desiring integration with the EU, in particular states in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Given the differences in expertise and in language competencies, this course should offer students the intellectual challenge of viewing Europe from both the insider and the outsider perspective and lead to an intense and interesting dialogue.

Small States and European Integration
Small states are often lost from sight in general discussions on European integration but the aim of this course is not to rescue them from this fate. What the course seeks to do is to operationalise the concept of relative size in the context of the European Union. It is a perfect interdisciplinary topic, touching as it does on history, economics, political economy and international relations. ‘Small states’ have been observed to bedifferent from their larger neighbours – in economic structure and in domestic policy-making frameworks – and to act differently in security policy, in international relations and in international organizations, such as the European Union. Some strands of the literature go even further and argue that ‘small states’ are not only different from their larger neighbours but that these differences actually act as advantages, which may be just as well considering that most member states of the EU fall into the category of relatively small. Students are expected to locate their own materials for their essays and presentations. The selection below is intended to be indicative of the type of materials easily available to you, and may give you ideas of the scope of the subject and possibly also for essay topics. 

The EU and National Parliaments (from 2009-10)


 This course deals with the role of national (and regional) parliaments in the EU-decisionmaking. There seems to be concensus among politicians and scholars that the European integration has weakened the position of national parliaments. At the same time the competences of the European Parliament have been extended through the subsequent revisions of the treaty. However the Treaty of Lisbon, due to come into force in 2009, if ratified, expands the (possible) role of the national parliaments. The background of these new treaty articles lays in a widely felt need to enhance the legitimacy of the integration process. National parliaments are supposed to attract more media attention than the European  Parliament and could or should therefore generate more public involvement in European affairs.

The main topics of the course are the following:

• The parlementary dimension of the European integration process in historical perspective. The development of the powers of the European Parliament and the position of the national (regional) parliaments in the light of the 'institutional balance' of the European institutions.
• The practice of the involvement in making EU- legislation (the informal prepatory negotiations) in the national/regional  parliaments. Differences between these parliaments: structures, procedures, organisation and political practice.
• National parliaments and the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
• The relations between the national parliaments and between the European Parliament and the national parliaments. The Conference of European Community Affairs Committees (COSAC).
• Focus on the practice of the involvement in European affairs of  the First and Second Chamber of the Netherlands. The bicameral Commission for scrutinizing European Commission proposals. 
• The relevant provisions in the treaties, in particular in the Treaty of Lisbon which (are meant to) expand the role of the national parliaments as guardians of the principle of subsidiarity and proportonality: a critical assessment. The future role of the national parliaments in EU- affairs.

European Cultural Policy (from 2009-10)
European Neighbourhood Policy (from 2009-10) European Public Opinion (from 2009-10)
More specialist options for 2009-10 will follow in the next few months

Each seminar course will be built around student presentations based on assigned readings. In addition students will be required to write a report on a topic of their choice integrating recent literature and appropriate primary materials. These papers will be discussed in presentations either during the second half of each course or at a colloquium at the end. Students will be expected to achieve a pass mark in each course.

The students will also be required to write a major research paper (Maximum 20.000 words) on a topic of their choice. The exact topic will be selected in consultation with the course director, in the course of the second term at the latest, who will allocate a supervisor to guide the student in the formulation of the topic, the selection of the primary and secondary source materials and the presentation of the results. A satisfactory thesis must be presented by 31 August of the year following registration.