SF-1164 Reinventing Europe: Beyond Brexit and Secular Stagnation
While newspaper headlines focus on the multiple problems Europe is facing today, the evolving adaptation of European nation states and the integration process receive less attention. Brexit and economic crises seem to be synonymous of Europe today, but facts such as the European Union accepting five new members in the coming five years or Europe being the most advance environmental actor or the main international provider of official aid are often ignored by public opinion. This Seminar for Freshman examines the dynamic evolution of the integration process in Europe in the context of globalization. Three sections articulate the main debates and tensions in the interplay between national and supranational institutions and policies. The first part analyzes how eight European countries have forged their national preferences to delineate their level of immersion in the integration process; it later proceeds with the examination of the main historical events in the history of the integration process. The second part explores the functioning of the EU institutions in order to grasp the essence of the complex policy-making in the Europe of 28 members. The third and final section presents the analysis of the main areas of the EU policy making such as agriculture, monetary and economic issues, among others, and observes the main developments in the area of EU external relations.