6 ECTS credits
157 u studietijd
Aanbieding 1 met studiegidsnummer 4018131FNR voor alle studenten in het 1e semester met een gespecialiseerd master niveau.
The rules established by the European Union (EU) constitute the fundamental framework for doing business in Europe. In this context, this course guides Master students with a specialization in International Business through the history, legal-institutional principles and legal aspects of the European Union’s decision-making processes, with a focus on the creation of EU laws and regulations and the EU’s international trade policy.
The approach to the course is multidisciplinary. Insights from history, economics, law and politics are indispensible to gain an understanding of the evolution of the European construction and its importance for business in Europe today. During each class, relevant current events shall be highlighted and discussed.
The EU Treaties are the primary material on which the course is based. Students shall be guided through the EU Treaties and the related case-law of the European Court of Justice with a view of gaining the ability to read and interpret such legal texts independently.
The main subjects covered during the course are:
1. Basic principles of the EU’s legal & institutional construction: a system based on law – primary law (i.e. the EU Treaties), secondary law (regulations, directives, decisions) and tertiary law (delegated and implementing acts); principle of conferral of competences from the Member States to the EU; categories and areas of EU competence; constitutional importance of the legal basis of EU legislation; subsidiarity and proportionality)
2. EU decision-making institutions (principles of institutional balance and sincere cooperation; European Council; European Commission; Council of Ministers; European Parliament; the interaction between these institutions and the ordinary legislative procedure; interest representation/lobbying during the law-making process)
3. EU legal protection mechanism (Court of Justice of the EU; direct effect and primacy of EU law; protection of fundamental rights in the EU)
4. EU international trade policy (with a focus on the negotiation of free trade agreements by the EU with third countries)
5. Historical development of European integration (from the European Coal and Steel Community to the Treaty of Lisbon; EU membership from the 6 to 28 (27) Member States and beyond); withdrawal from the EU (Brexit)
Throughout the course an active use will be made of the EU Treaties and case-law. Students should therefore bring to class the Course Materials, containing the pertinent extracts from the Treaties and the case-law.
Students are encouraged to bring up points for discussion or for further explanation.
Students take note during the lectures. There are no PowerPoints (as they tend to prevent interactivity and on the spot adaptation of the course content) and there is no fixed course book. It is expected that students compose their own study material, based on an integration of the class discussions and the relevant Treaty articles and case law. To guide the students in this exercise, the list of possible exam questions is distributed during the first class. Instead of assimilating a "ready-made" book, the idea is that students participate in an active manner in the exercise of structuring their replies and distilling the essence out of a mass of information.
- Students gain insight in the historical development, institutional law and decision-making of the European Union and acquire the knowledge and skills to understand the crucial phases in EU decision-making (important for interest-representation) and interpret the importance of EU law for international business.
- Students acquire the technical ability to read and understand the EU's primary law and secondary law texts and the case law of the Court of Justice.
- As the course is taught in the English language, students acquire the knowledge and skill to understanding and use the specialized vocabulary on EU law in the English language.
The learning objectives and examination requirements are identical for both variants of the course.
De beoordeling bestaat uit volgende opdrachtcategorieën:
Examen Andere bepaalt 100% van het eindcijfer
Binnen de categorie Examen Andere dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:
Exam: written + oral exam
Students take a final exam at the end of the semester (this is usually on a Saturday in January, tbc).
Possible exam questions are distributed to the students during the first day of classes. Students thus have an entire semester to prepare themselves and gather the elements to answer the questions.
Each of the exam themes is discussed in class.
The exam is structured as follows:
The grade is calculated on the basis of the written paper, and can be augmented in light of the oral clarifications provided by the student.
Examples of possible exam questions (to be confirmed at the start of the academic year):
Deze aanbieding maakt deel uit van de volgende studieplannen:
Master handelsingenieur: Standaard traject
Master of International Business: Standaard traject (enkel aangeboden in het Engels)