Description du cours

Intitulé de l'Unité d'Enseignement

European Union : History and Institutions

Code de l'Unité d'Enseignement

22MEP20

Année académique

2026 - 2027

Cycle

MASTER

Nombre de crédits

Nombre heures

Quadrimestre

Pondération

Site

Anjou

Langue d'enseignement

Anglais

Enseignant responsable

SALEH Ruba

Objectifs et contribution de l'Unité d'Enseignement au programme

The students are expected to :
- Improve their understanding of the EU through History, Policy and Institutions.
- Understand the structure and decision-making processes of EU institutions and to develop the skills needed for effective negotiation within an enlarged EU.

Learning outcomes in terms of knowledge
At the end of the course the student should be able to:
? Produce a definition of Europe and to justify it;
? Understand the challenges and the objectives of the European integration process;
? Describe the individual power of, and the working relationship between, the major institutions of the European Union;
? Understand how to influence the EU institutions;
? Understand how decisions are taken at the European level (processes of treaty revision and legislative procedures);
? Have a helicopter view of the impact of the European Union on business relations management.

Learning outcomes in terms of skills
At the end of the course the student should be able to:
? Communicate and work effectively in a multicultural and multilingual environment;
? Analyse critically the concept and practices of European integration and the functioning of the European Union;
? Demonstrate an international mindset by making links between current challenges and those of the past in the field of European integration;
? Examine thoroughly a complex business and political situation by knowing how the EU works and which actors are accountable for EU decisions;
? Establish contact with relevant professionals involved in European matters.
This course contributes to the following learning goals:
- Be open to the world;
- Be aware of the complexity and importance of critical thinking.

Prérequis et corequis

There are no specific requisites for this course. However, students are expected to be fluent in English and to have a basic knowledge of European history and to keep one’s knowledge up to date of current European affairs by reading regularly Politico or other European-oriented outlets during the course.

Description du contenu

Introduction
Session 1: First part: course organization

History Module (Aurélien Goutsmedt)
Europe before Europe – The European Union in the Making (From the Communities to the Union) – Europe and (its) Crises.

European Institutions visits (Ruba Saleh)
Introduction to institutional culture and governance at European level. Visits to:
House of European History, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament.

Institutions, Decision Making and Negotiating (Adam Steinhouse)
-The treaties and the spirit of the EU
- Overview of the main institutions and the EU decision-making process
- EU lobbying exercise and lobbying tips
- EU enlargement and the future development of the EU, including the effects of Brexit
- EU negotiation exercise.

Méthodes pédagogiques

This course adopts an interactive class setting and it incorporates the following elements:
- Lectures given by the lecturers and invited experts
- 2-day workshop in December which includes preparatory readings, interventions by the students, pitch and discussions.
- Group work, debate, individual & collective reflections

Teaching activities are all in person. Presence and active participation in the course are compulsory. Students are also expected to attend the European career conference, and the two visits as follows:
- Visit to House of European History on Friday 25 September 2026
- EU career conference on Thursday 12 November 2026
- Visit to the European Commission on Friday 13 November 2026
- Visit to the Council of the European Union on Friday 20 November 2026
- Visit to the European Parliament on Friday 27 November 2026

Mode d'évaluation

Globally, students will be evaluated by the 3 lecturers. Each module represents 35% of the total mark. This assessment is based on class participation, pitch, Wooclap/Quiz interactions. 35% of the final grade is based on your learning log and the quality of your feedback with regards to your learning journey.
Objective: Demonstrate the ability to argue and produce critical thinking.

The overall evaluation will be as follows:
History Module (Aurélien Goutsmedt) 35%
Institutions, Decision Making and Negotiating (Adam Steinhouse & Ruba Saleh) 35%
Personal learning log 30%

In accordance with ICHEC study regulations, the average points are calculated on the basis of an arithmetic average if there is no failure in any of the activities. In case of failure in one or more activities, it is calculated on the basis of a geometric average.

In case of no class participation or late enrollment these students will be graded down and evaluated during the second session on the basis of their active participation in class (20%) and an exam in January on the subjects seen in the course (80%).

The workshop, conference and visits are one-time events. Please note that in case of non-participation in the workshop, students will be graded down.

AI Policy applied to your group work:
You may use AI (text generation & image generation tools) as long as it is conformed to ICHEC’s general guidelines. AI can be used for assisting you in gathering relevant information to produce your assignments which include exploring a topic, finding relevant sources, translating a text, or reformulating points seen in class. AI must not be used to generate text and content from scratch.
Please remember that:
- AI is a tool which you need to acknowledge.
- You may be asked to send prompts used and AI answer after evaluation of group works and individual assignments.
- You should master anything you have written and the slides you have elaborated.
Any failure to fulfil the conditions above will lead you to be graded down.

Learning log: This journal is intended to help you make the most of the course. You may find it useful as a way of structuring your thoughts and thinking about the future.
You are expected to fill in the relevant section after each module and at the end of course on the ad-hoc folder on Teams. Please note that the maximum word count of 300 words per question. The learning log is personal and the use of AI is not permitted.

Submission deadlines:
Part 1: History Module Monday 09 November 2026 by midnight
Part 2: Institutions, Decision Making and Negotiating Monday 07 December 2026 by midnight
Part 3: Overall thoughts Monday 14 December 2026 by midnight

Références bibliographiques

- Moodle: Announcements, Forum, class presentations, Handouts & reading materials.
-Wooclap: Students are asked to generate a personal account with their ICHEC email mentioning their first name and name.

-Teams: Students are supposed to submit their learning log answers by the set deadline in the ad-hoc folder.

Useful links:
www.cvce.eu/en
https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en
https://www.politico.eu/
https://eu-historians.org/?page_id=20
https://www.europeanheritagehub.eu/

Bibliography:

Walter Lipgens, A History of European Integration, vol.I: 1945-1947, Oxford, 1982.
Roy Price, The Dynamics of European Union, London, 1987.
Alan S. Milward, The Reconstruction of Western Europe 1945-1957, London, Routledge, 1992.
Norman Davies, Europe, a History, London, Pimlico, 1997.
Stuart T. Miller, Modern European History, second ed.,New York, Palgrave, 1997.
Anthony & Andrew Cowgill, The Treaty of Lisbon in Perspective, British Management Data Foundation, STROUD, Gloucestershire, England, UK, 2008.
Neill Nugent, The Government and Politics of the European Union, seventh edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 (ISBN 9780230241183).
Gabriele Suder, Doing Business in Europe, second edition, Sage, 2012 (ISBN 9780857020857).
Luuk Van Middelaar, The Passage to Europe, How a Continent became a Union, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2013.
Derek W. Urwin, The Community of Europe, A History of European Integration since 1945, London and New York, Routledge, 2014.
Meurs, W., Bruin, R., Grift, L., Hoetink, C., Leeuwen, K., & Reijnen. The Unfinished History of European Integration. Amsterdam University Press. 2018.
Pinder, J., & Usherwood, S. M. The European Union?: A very short introduction (2nd Edition 2007). Oxford Univ. Press. 2018.
Triandafyllidou, A., & Gropas, R., What is Europe? (21st Century Europe, 8) (1st ed. 2015). Routledge, 2022. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003278375