European integration and Public Policy

INTRODUCTION 

• Starting Your Research in EU Policy Analysis
• Mapping EU Policies

BLOC I: THEORIES OF EU POLICY-MAKING   

• Theories of EU Integration in Historical Perspective
• The EU Policy Cycle
• Europeanization and Policy Transfers

BLOC II: CHANGES IN EU POLICY-MAKING: SECTORAL STUDIES   

• Neofunctionalist Dynamics and Regulatory Governance: the Single Market Policy
• Policy Learning and Paradigm Shift: The Common Agricultural Policy
• Soft Coordination in Higher Education Policy
• Policy Framing and Digital Policy

Objectives

• Discover the main policies of the EU: history, features, reforms
• Understand European policy-making procedures: institutions, rules, actors
• Understand the mechanisms and actors of policy change in the EUR  
• Follow current European policy issues

Skills developped

• Extensive grasp of EU policies  
• Mastering of concepts and theories in EU policy change in the EU
• Understanding of how actors deal with EU policy-making in practice
• Ability to discuss policy issues in English
• Awareness of ongoing European affairs

Lectures will be interrupted and complemented by debates about policy issues and simulation games performed by student groups and collective feedback  

Références, bibliographie et lectures recommandées

Mandatory readings (available on the UV):

• Laurie Buonanno, Neill Nugent, “The Policy Cycle”, in Policies and policy processes of the European Union, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2013, p. 101-118.
•  Sabine Saurugger, “Europeanization & Public Policy Transfers”, in Theoretical Approaches to European Integration, Basingstoke, Palgrave, 2013, 123-144.

Additional recommend handbooks 

• Michelle Cini, Nieves Borragan, European Union Politics, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025. 
• Esther Versluis, Mendeltje van Keulen, Paul Stephenson, Analyzing the European Union policy process, Palgrave, 2014. 

Support(s) de cours

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Joel Ficet: joel.ficet@ulb.be
Appointment on demand (via e-mail)

Campus

Solbosch

Méthode(s) d'évaluation

• Examen écrit
• Présentation orale

Examen écrit

• Question ouverte à développement long

Présentation orale

Written exam (2 hours): short essay (4 pages max.) focusing on a key concept covered in class. 

Simulation game: small scale simulation of a negotiation in groups (5 students max), including a written report on how the game was prepared.

• The issue, institutional context and relevant decision-making procedure are briefly explained to the other students (2 minutes max)
• The members of the group determine the relevant characters/roles.Each student endorses and performs a particular role.The game is performed in class for no longer than 20 min
• The written report (3-4 pages) is to be sent per e-mail on the day before the game at the latest. It should describe what the specific situation is (policy issue, timeline, institutional framework), who the actors involved in the presentation are, and what their positions on the issue at stake are. It should also include a list of  5-10 references (separating first hand material/documents/sources and academic literature). 

Construction de la note (en ce compris, la pondération des notes partielles)

• Simulation game (including the written report): 50% of final mark
• Exam: 50%  of final mark

Langue(s) d'évaluation

• anglais