| CODE | EST5594 | |||||||||
| TITLE | The EU Legislative Process and the Political Dynamics of Inter-Institutional Negotiations | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | EU legislation is the product of a meeting of intents between the Council and the European Parliament on the basis of a Commission proposal. That meeting of intents has to be codified in a legislative text. The process of the production of a legislative text agreed to by the two legislators is illustrative of the political dynamics of inter institutional negotiations. The stuy-unit will elaborate on the practical process deployed by the EU legislators and the EU executive to influence the others' agendas and positions as part of a synchronisation process to converge towards that common text. The political dynamics conditioning the work of the respective institutions will be examined. The process where the three positions formally converge in the trialogue process will be analysed. All of this will be done with regular reference to specific case-studies from ongoing and past negotiations. Study-unit Aims: • Supplement, consolidate and corraborate the learning outcomes of other study units by focusing on the practice of EU law making; • Building upon the acquired lessons of the student by highlighting the application in practice of the decision-making mechanisms; • Illustrate, through story-telling and case-studies the practical deployment and conditioning factors of inter-institutional negotiations. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Interpret the news on EU affairs thanks to a better understanding of the political context and the decision-making mechanisms at play; • Analyse to a further degree the developments on a particular topic or dossier to the benefit of his/her employer; • Understand better the essential agenda coordination at EU level for any progress to be made on a given dossier; • Appreciate the complexity of EU decision making in an applied context; • Appreciate the direct role and impact of the actors around the negotiating table. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Demonstrate a better predisposition to interpret developments at EU level in areas of professional and personal interest; • Demonstrate a better predisposition to put developments announced by one institution within the wider context of inter-institutional negotiations; • Demonstrate an enhanced predisposition to understand the possible political undertones and strategy in inter-institutional negotiations. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Specific packages per case study composed of media articles, articles in EU affairs journals and formal documentation used by the institutions to be provided in advance for every lecture. Case studies to be chosen from items presently in the news and others from the past months and years. General reference texts: • Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament • Rules of Procedure of the Council • Co-decision Guide (Council) • Co-decision Guide (European Parliament) |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Failure in submitting the Seminar Paper or an unjustified absence in the Examination will result in an overall fail. Class attendance is obligatory, as this is a seminar based course and assessment depends on class participation. Should a student miss more than two seminars, the lecturer may refuse to allow the student to sit for the exam. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | John Busuttil Elaine Cordina |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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