Curricular Unit:Code:
Portuguese Constitution and the European Union777CPUE
Year:Level:Course:Credits:
2UndergraduatePolitical Science and International Relations6 ects
Learning Period:Language of Instruction:Total Hours:
Portuguese/English78
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
(i) To integrate methods, concepts, theories and knowledge in the European integration area;
(ii) To develop interactive skills allowing students to participate in debates on contemporary political events and the participation of Portugal in the European integration process;
(iii) To select methods of information management that guide students in selected readings on European integration issues;
(iv) To improve oral and written communication skills;
(vi) To develop critical analysis of contemporary political and European integration issues.
Syllabus:
Chapter I – The framework of European integration: 1. Supranational organisations vs. intergovernmental organisations; 2. The foundations of the European Union (EU); 3. The stages of economic integration; 4. The enlargements of the EU; 5. The deepening of European integration: the several treaty amendments.
Chapter II – The institutions and the decision-making process of the EU: 1. The decision-making institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Central Bank; 2. The institutions of oversight: the European Commission and the European Council; 3. Institutions of control: the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Auditors. 4. The principle of subsidiarity. 5. The ordinary legislative procedure.
Chapter III – The relationship between EU law and national law: 1. Primary law and secondary law. 2. Treaty amendments’ procedure. 3. Principles governing the articulation of EU law with national law: 3.1. Primacy; 3.2. Direct implementation.
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
Chapter I – The theoretical issues of the genesis and the historical development of European integration should encourage students to understand the contemporary political issues, as well as to promote critical reading on these issues.
Chapter II – The presentation of the model of European Union (EU) institutions aims at providing an understanding of the EU institutional model, as well as to promote a critical reading of the European integration process within the institutional and the decision-making dimensions.
Chapter III – The approach to EU law aims at providing students basic knowledge on the two main categories of EU law in order to understand the relationship between EU law and national law.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
Teaching methodology includes lecturing, research, readings and discussion of European integration contemporary issues, as well as critical reflection. Assessment is continuous and based on two written tests (50%-50% coefficient).
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
Theoretical exposition of the contents the scientific area; presentation and handling of the handbook; discussions in the classroom; integration of methods, concepts, theories and knowledge in the scientific area; developing interactive competences in the classroom; demonstration of oral and written communication skills of expert assessment contents; selection of methods of information management.
Reading:
CARDOSO, Carla, RAMOS, Cláudia, LEITE, Isabel C., CARDOSO, João C. and VILA MAIOR, Paulo (2017), A União Europeia: História, Instituições e Políticas, 7.ª edição, Porto: Edições Universidade Fernando Pessoa.
CINI, Michele, and BORRAGÁN, Nieves Pérez-Solórzano (eds.) (2013), European Union Politics, 4th. edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
El-AGRAA, Ali M. (ed.) (2011), The European Union: Economics and Policies, 9th. edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
NUGENT, Neill (2010), The Politics and Government of the European Union, 7th. edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
WALLACE, Helen, POLLACK, Mark A., and YOUNG, Alasdair R. (eds.) (2010), Policy-Making in the European Union, 6th. edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.