INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

PSIR503

Course Code: PSIR503
Semester: -
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Elective Course

Course Level

Master's Degree With Thesis

Year of Study

Semester

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Associate Professor Süleyman Sezgin Mercan

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Discuss the organisational structure of the EU as a model of supranational/international integration.
Analyse the structures, authority, modus operandi, functions of and the relations among the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the Union.
Elaborate the scope, the process of emergence and the place of three-pillared EU policies.
Comment on the differences between EU institutions and institutions of other regional organizations.
Evaluate the historical evolution of the EU institutions.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Description

This course studies the organization and modus operandi of the institutions that make up the decision making structure of the European Union.

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Theoretical Approaches to EU Integration: 1. Types of International integration: a. Confederation; b. Consociationalism; Federalism; 2. Supra-national/international Integration Theories and EU: a. Realism (intergovernmentalism); b. Functionalism /neo-functionalism
2^nd Week	Sources, legislative processes and national reflections of EU legal structure
3^rd Week	EU Organs I: The Council I: 1. Its structure modus operandi, decision making; 2. General Secretary; 3. COREPER; 4. Councils and auxiliary committees.
4^th Week	EU Organs II: The Council II: 1. Its responsibilities and authorities; 2. Relations with other EU institutions; 3. Institutional reforms in enlargement and reform processes.
5^th Week	EU Organs III: The Parliament I: 1. Its formation, elections, member composition; 2. Political groups and committees; 3. Relations with national parliaments.
6^th Week	EU Organs IV: The Parliament II: 1. Modus operandi; 2. Political agenda; 3. Responsibilities and authorities; 4. EU parliament, problem of legitimacy and democratic deficit.
7^th Week	Mid-Term Exam
8^th Week	EU Organs V: The Commission I: 1. Its structure; 2. Nominations procedure and term of office; 3. Modus operandi.
9^th Week	EU Organs VI: The Commission II: 1. Its responsibilities and authorities; 2. Relations with other EU institutions; 3. Effects of the enlargement on the Commission.
10^th Week	EU Organs VII: Judicial Organs: 1. European Court of Justice; 2. Court of First Instance; 3. Court of Accounts
11^th Week	EU Organs VIII: European Ban of Investment and Committees: 1. Economic and Social Committee; 2. Regional Committees; 3. European Bank of Investment
12^th Week	European Citizens and Basic Rights: 1. European Identity; 2. European citizen as a "political actor"; 3. EU Basic Rights Clause and the developments regarding EU constitution.
13^th Week	EU Policies I: First Pillar and EU Common Policies: 1. Common Agricultural Policy; 2. Common Fisheries Policy; 3. Common Financial Policies; 4. Single Market or Customs Union.
14^th Week	EU Policies II: Second and Third Pillars: 1. Common Foreign and Security Policy; 2. Justice and Domestic Affairs.

Recommended or Required Reading

B. Wessels ve R. S. Katz, "Introduction: European Parliament, National Parliaments, and European Integration", in R. S. Katz ve B. Wessels (der.), The European Parliament, the National Parliaments, and European Integration. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, 3-18.
Juliet Lodge. "The Transformation of the European Parliament", Marmara Avrupa Araştırmaları Dergisi, Vol. 9 (2), 2001, 45-67.
J. Thomassen ve H. Schmitt. 1999. "Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union", in J. Thomassen ve H. Schmitt (der.), Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 3-21.
Melis Bişkin. "AB'de Hukuki Araçlar", in C. Aktar (der.), Avrupa Birliği'nin Genişleme Süreci. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 43-50.
P. Norton. 1996. "Addressing the Democratic Deficit", in P. Norton (der.), National Parliaments and the European Union. London: Frank Cass, 177-193.
R. Bellamy ve D. Castiglione. 2000. "The Uses of Democracy: Reflections on the European Democratic Deficit", in E. O. Eriksen ve J. E. Fossum (der.), Democracy in the European Union: Integration Through Deliberation? Routledge: London and New York, 65-83. R. O. Keohane ve S. Hoffmann. 1991. "Institutional Change in Europe in the 1990s", in R. O. Keohane ve S. Hoffmann (der.), The New European Community: Decisionmaking and Institutional Change. Oxford and San Francisco: Westview Press, 1-39.
R. S. Katz. 1999. "Representation, the Locus of Democratic Legitimation and the Role of the National Parliaments in the European Union", in R. S. Katz ve B. Wessels (der.), The European Parliament, the National Parliaments, and European Integration. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 21-44.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Questions/Answers

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Mid-term	1	30
Assignment	6	30
Total(%)		60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		40
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam	1	2	2
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	4	56
Preparation for Final exam	1	70	70
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	60	60
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	3	3
Homework	6	12	72
Total Work Load			305
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10.16
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3	LO4	LO5
K1			X
K2					X
K3
K4	X	X
K5	X	X	X	X	X
K6	X	X	X	X	X
K7				X	X
K8