EVSb1003 EU Institutions

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Petr Kaniok, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Petr Kaniok, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! EVS105 EU Institutions && !NOW( EVS105 EU Institutions ) && ( EVSb1001 European Integration || EVS104 European Integration )
Kurs je koncipován jako navazující. Předpokládá se proto absolvování kursu Evropská integrace, nebo srovnatelná znalost evropského integračního procesu. Nezbytností je take četba anglických textů v rozsahu cca 200 stran. Rozsah českých textů činí cca 300 stran.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 23 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course deals with detail mechanisms and institutional design of the European Union. It will focus on institutions development and the influence of political aspects on decision-making process. Course will also take into account influence of the theoretical perspectives of supranacionalism and intergovernmentalism .At the end of the course, student should be able to explain EU institutions functioning, especially their role in the decision-making process.
Learning outcomes
Student will be able to identify main actors of EU institutional structure
Student will be able to explain main challenges of EU institutional structure
Student can identify main weaknesess and opportunities of EU institutional structure
Student will be able to explain impact of EU institutional structure on domestic politics of EU Member states
Syllabus
  • 1) Introductory lesson, introduction to the scope of the course, conditions for completion
  • 2) Introduction to the institutional development of the EC/EU, polarity of the supranational and intergovernmental model, specifics of the EU, introduction to European law
  • 3) European Council - composition, importance and tasks of the institution
  • 4) Council of the EU - composition, meaning and tasks of the institution
  • 5) Coordination of the European agenda
  • 6) European Parliament
  • 7) European Commission
  • 8) Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions - status of advisory bodies, Court of Auditors and its importance, European Agencies
  • 9) Decision-making in the EU (budgetary procedure, decision-making procedures, consent procedure)
  • 10) European Court of Justice, Court of First Instance
  • 11) The role of national parliaments in the EU political system
  • 12) Seminar I
  • 13) Seminar II
Literature
    required literature
  • COSTA, Olivier and Nathalie BRACK. How the EU really works. Second edition. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2019, 1 online. ISBN 9781351249232. URL info
  • How the EU institutions work and... how to work with the EU Institutions. Edited by Alan Hardacre - Erik Akse. 2nd edition. London: John Harper publishing, 2015, xiii, 370. ISBN 9780992974886. info
Teaching methods
The course is carried out in form of lectures and in-class discussions.
Assessment methods
Final exam 30 points, two seminar preparations 10 points, monitoring of EU institutions 16 points, class participation 8 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2025/EVSb1003