The Policies and Institutions of An Enlarging European Union

Module Coordinator
Prof. Canan Balkir, Head of European Union Studies Graduate Department, Institute of Social Sciences, Dokuz Eylul University
E-mail: canan.balkir@deu.edu.tr Tel: + 90 232 412 8766

Module Outline
The module is prepared for a five-year period starting in Spring term of the 2005-2006 academic year. The class will meet weekly for three hours in the related department of Dokuz Eylul University. The audience for the module is the postgraduate students of Translation and Interpretation Department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the postgraduate students of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences of the Faculty of Theology.

Aims and Objectives
The module will examine the institutions, their functioning and evolution of the European Union. It has three key aims:
1. to provide a detailed understanding of the history of the EU;
2. to assess the functioning and evolution of the institutions;
3. and to provide knowledge about main policies and enlargement of the EU with special attention to Turkish candidacy and negotiation process for EU membership.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the students should be able to:
1. understand the historical evolution and the institutional structure of the EU;
2. understand the dynamics and main policies of the EU;
3. understand the process of enlargement;
4. evaluate Turkish candidacy within the context of enlargement process.

Teaching Methods
With the exception of week one, each session will be composed of two 45 minute lectures and will be followed by general discussion and brain-storming.

Assessment
Students will be assessed on the basis of two pieces of written work:
1. A 3000 word essay on specified topics (50%)
2. A 2000 word take-home assignment (50%).
 

Detailed Course Programme

Week 1: Introduction to the module
General information about Dokuz Eylul University, Jean Monnet Programme and its relevance to the university students, and an overview of the module will be provided.

Week 2: History of European Integration from Paris Treaty to Maastricht Treaty on European Union (1951-1992)
In this session, the historical evolution of the EU will be studied starting from the establishment of European Coal and Steel Community with Paris Treaty (1951) to the Treaty on European Union (1992). The milestones in this process such as ECSC, EURATOM, European Economic Community, Single European Act and Treaty on European Union will be examined.

Week 3: History of European Integration from Maastricht Treaty on European Union to present (1992- …)
The session will focus on the evolution of the EU from Maastricht Treaty on European Union (1992) to present developments. In this context, major developments including Amsterdam Treaty (1997), Nice Treaty (2000), the Constitutional Treaty on European Union will be studied.

Week 4: Institutions of the EU (I)
In this session, the structure and functioning of Council of the EU, Council of Ministers, European Commission and European Parliament will be examined.

Week 5: Institutions of the EU (II)
This session will include topics related with the structure and functioning of European Court of Justice, European Court of Auditors, European Ombudsman, advisory bodies (Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions) and financial bodies (European Central Bank, European Investment Bank).

Week 6: Main Common Policies of the EU (I)
This session will mainly concentrate on providing a general overview of the main common policies such as Economic and Monetary Union, Common Foreign and Security Policy and Internal Market.

Week 7: Main Common Policies of the EU (II)
This session will provide a framework of the programmes under the policies of education, research and innovation taking into consideration the significance of these issues for the university students.

Week 8: Enlargement of the EU from 6 to 25 Members
This session will deal with the five enlargement processes of the EU from the foundation to the present with special attention to recent enlargement process including the candidates.

Week 9: Turkey’s candidacy process for full membership to the EU
After a general overview of the historical background of the relations between Turkey and EU, the main developments and dynamics of the relationship following the decision of Helsinki European Council in 1999 declaring Turkey as a candidate for full membership will be examined.

Week 10: Projections for the future of European Integration and relations between Turkey and EU
This session will include a general discussion and brainstorming concerning the future of the EU in the global context, as well as the future projections for Turkey-EU relations and will end with the student evaluations about the module.