The aim of the course is to provide students with a systematic, theoretically informed and up-to-date understanding of the European Union as a distinctive system of political and economic integration. The course examines the origins and historical development of European integration, the evolution of the Union from the post-war communities to the post-Lisbon era, and the principal theoretical approaches used to explain integration, governance and Europeanization. Particular attention is paid to the EU’s institutional architecture and policy-making system, including the European Commission, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as the interaction of EU institutions with interest groups, citizens and public opinion. Students examine how authority is distributed across supranational, intergovernmental and national levels and how EU decisions and policies are formulated, negotiated, implemented and contested. The course introduces selected core policy areas that illustrate the scope and diversity of contemporary EU governance, including the single market, Economic and Monetary Union, trade and development, the Common Agricultural Policy, digital policy, environmental and climate policy, migration and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. It also addresses enlargement, foreign, security and defence policy, Brexit, democracy, legitimacy and the rule of law, and the EU’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to connect institutional and theoretical knowledge with contemporary European developments and to assess critically the economic, political and societal implications of European integration for Member States, citizens and businesses, including the position of Hungary within the European Union. The final part of the course considers current strategic challenges and competing perspectives on the future development of the Union.

Lectures

Course description: Aim of the course: The aim of the course is to provide students with a systematic, theoretically informed and up-to-date understanding of the European Union as a distinctive system of political and economic integration. The course examines the origins and historical development of European integration, the evolution of the Union from the post-war communities to the post-Lisbon era, and the principal theoretical approaches used to explain integration, governance and Europeanization. Particular attention is paid to the EU’s institutional architecture and policy-making system, including the European Commission, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as the interaction of EU institutions with interest groups, citizens and public opinion. Students examine how authority is distributed across supranational, intergovernmental and national levels and how EU decisions and policies are formulated, negotiated, implemented and contested. The course introduces selected core policy areas that illustrate the scope and diversity of contemporary EU governance, including the single market, Economic and Monetary Union, trade and development, the Common Agricultural Policy, digital policy, environmental and climate policy, migration and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. It also addresses enlargement, foreign, security and defence policy, Brexit, democracy, legitimacy and the rule of law, and the EU’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to connect institutional and theoretical knowledge with contemporary European developments and to assess critically the economic, political and societal implications of European integration for Member States, citizens and businesses, including the position of Hungary within the European Union. The final part of the course considers current strategic challenges and competing perspectives on the future development of the Union. Learning content: Lecture: Course schedule: 1. Introduction to the European Union: defining the EU; the nature and scope of European integration; the EU as a political and economic system; key concepts, actors and contemporary challenges. (Chapter 1) 2. The establishment and development of the European Union: post-war origins; the Schuman Declaration; ECSC and EEC; major treaty reforms; deepening and widening integration from Rome to Maastricht and Lisbon. (Chapters 2–3) 3. Theories and approaches to European integration: neo-functionalism, intergovernmentalism, critical approaches, governance and institutionalist perspectives, and Europeanization. The explanatory value and limitations of competing approaches. (Chapters 4–8) 4. The EU institutional system I: the European Commission, the European Council and the Council of the European Union; composition, functions, leadership, agenda-setting, negotiation and interinstitutional relations. (Chapters 9–10) 5. The EU institutional system II: the European Parliament and the Court of Justice of the European Union; representation, legislative and scrutiny functions, judicial integration, the authority of EU law and institutional balance. (Chapters 11–12) 6. Representation, participation and policy-making in the European Union: interest groups, citizens and public opinion; EU governance and the policy process; agenda-setting, negotiation, decision-making, implementation and accountability. (Chapters 13–15) 7. The economic foundations of European integration: the single market and its four freedoms; Economic and Monetary Union, the euro, economic governance and lessons from the euro crisis. (Chapters 19 and 21) 8. First mid-term test; selected EU policies I: trade and development policies, the Common Agricultural Policy, and the changing economic and distributive role of EU-level policy-making. (Chapters 16 and 22) 9. Selected EU policies II: EU digital policy; environmental and climate change policy; regulation, sustainability, competitiveness and the digital and green transitions. (Chapters 23–24) 10. Enlargement, migration and internal security: EU enlargement and conditionality; Europeanization; the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice; migration and refugee policies and their political and institutional implications. (Chapters 8, 17, 20 and 25) 11. The European Union as an international actor: EU foreign, security and defence policies; external action, strategic autonomy and the EU’s response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. (Chapters 18 and 29) 12. Democracy and the contemporary European Union: citizens and public opinion revisited; Brexit; democracy, legitimacy and the rule of law; equality and inclusion as dimensions of EU governance. (Chapters 14 and 26–28) 13. Second mid-term test; the future of the European Union: competing visions of integration, enlargement and institutional reform; economic competitiveness, security and geopolitical challenges; implications for Hungary and other Member States. (Chapter 30; synthesis of the course).

Teaching aids: The presentations used during the classes are available on Microsoft Teams. Laboratory facilities: Not relevant.