The economic and monetary basis of the European Integration

Teacher(s)

Fontan Clément; SOMEBODY;

Language

French

Main themes

The course gives an introduction to the European economy and to economic policy. It provides the tools necessary to analyze the process of European economic integration. It also outlines the main European economic policies and their drivers.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Understanding of the main drivers of the European economy. Providing a critical analysis of a selection of European economic policies.

Content

This course in political economy aims to analyse the co-construction of the political and economic spheres in the European Union from the 1950s to the present day. We will discuss the foundations of European economic integration, the history of economic ideas, the construction of the single market, the adoption of the euro, the first ten years of governance of the Economic and Monetary Union, the crisis of the euro zone and the reforms linked to it. Adopting this historical perspective, the course analyses the development of the EU's sectoral economic policies, including social policies, competition and industrial policies and international trade policies. Topics also address the ongoing debates on the finance/democracy nexus, the digital economy and taxation, trade policy and free trade treaties, and the economic paradigm shift in times of climate catastrophe.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

At the end of this course, students will know how to
- Characterise the main European economic systems.
- To identify the different logics of European economic and monetary integration.
- Manipulate the theoretical and conceptual tools of political economy to analyse economic developments in Europe.
- To structure a scientific discourse on the European economy.
- Critical judgement on the selection of media sources and the public presentation of economic issues.
Organisation and conduct of meetings
The first 10 sessions of the course are divided into three parts: a current affairs item, a "lecture" part and a discussion part of the texts related to the theme of the session. The last 5 sessions of the course do not include a discussion of the compulsory reading or any preliminary questions about them to be uploaded on Moodle. Student participation is encouraged throughout the sessions. Student attendance at all sessions of the course is highly recommended. For each session, a list of required readings is provided. These readings are an integral part of the course and will be required for the final exam. Students who wish to pursue certain topics in greater depth may request additional reading from the teachers.

 

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

L’évaluation des étudiant·e·s reposera sur deux éléments : d’une part un examen écrit individuel dont les questions portent sur le cours et qui comptera pour 70 % de la note finale et d’autre part le point d’actualité et les lectures obligatoires qui compteront pour 30% de la note finale.
En cas de passage en ligne, les points d'actualité seront notés sur Teams et l'examen final se fera à distance sur Moodle.

Faculty or entity

EURO