Basics of the European Union Foreign Action
Code: 40890 ECTS Credits: 15| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313791 European Integration | OT | 0 | 1 |
| 4313800 International Relations, Security and Development | OT | 0 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria Ester Barbe Izuel
- Email:
- esther.barbe@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Teachers
- Esther Zapater i Duque
- Marta Isern Busquets
- Eduard Soler Lecha
External teachers
- Alfonso González (Universitat Rovira i Virgili)
- Diego Badell (Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals)
- Martijn Vlaskamp (Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals)
Prerequisites
Students have to work correctly in both languages Spanish and English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Get acquainted with the theoretical and political debates related with the EU external action.
Study the EU external action from several perspectives (economic, political and security).
Get theoretical knowledge about EU external action through reading and documents related with EU external action basic dimensions.
Analyze the EU external action instruments using case studies to underline its flexibility, limitations and effectiveness.
Competences
- European Integration
- Analyse the legal, political and economic instruments implemented by the EU in its relations with other countries (specialisation in External Action).
- Analyse the mechanisms and standpoints adopted by the EU within its participation in various multilateral international institutions and other bodies (specialisation in External Action).
- Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
- International Relations, Security and Development
- Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
- Apply the necessary methodological instruments for systematic and rigorous analysis of international relations (observation, comparison, formulation of hypotheses, etc.), and intervention tools (policy and strategy making, planning, negotiation and mediation techniques, etc.).
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Make a diagnosis of security and development problems in the proposed countries, regions and areas of the international system, and offer useful advice for decision-making based on the diagnosis.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature, skilfully handling specialised documentary and bibliographic sources on international relations, and integrate this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
- Classify international agreements reached by the EU and/or other countries and international organisations.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously
- Identify the mechanisms used by the European institutions that design the EU's external action.
- Identify the unilateral instruments employed by European institutions in the implementation of external action in both regional and multilateral frameworks.
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Interpret the positions that the EU defends within the framework of other international organisations or multilateral international meetings .
- Know the specific actions and mechanisms used by the European institutions responsible for external action to define the positions that the EU will defend in the framework of other international organizations or multilateral international meetings.
- Make a typology of international agreements and unilateral instruments used by the European institutions in both regional and multilateral contexts.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature, skilfully handling specialised documentary and bibliographic sources on international relations, and integrate this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
Content
- EU external action: Constitution of a political and security actor. Dr. Esther Barbé. Professor of International Relations UAB. One session: Diplomacy and security in the EU framework. Levels of analysis (international, European, domestic). Europeanization of foreign policies. Constitutive negotiation in a changing international context.
- Comunitaritzation, decision making, defense, institutions and instruments of external action: theory and practice. Dr. Pol Morillas (CIDOB). Session 1. Towards the Lisbon Treaty (Context and political negotiations. Member states preferences and European institutions. Negotiations and global context. Session 2. Formulation of foreign policy in the Lisbon Treaty. Decision making process. New institutions role. Member states role Session 3: Implementing foreign policy with Lisbon Treaty. Foreign policy instruments. Inter-institutional coordination. Case-study: EU responses to Haiti earthquake. Session 4: Europeanization of foreign policy? Reviewing the debate between Europeanization and intergovernmentalism in European foreign policy. Changes and the Lisbon Treaty. Theory and practice: EU’s Spanish presidency (first semester 2010). Session 5: Practical implementation of the new foreign policy (I). EU responses to Arab spring: a political approach. Decision making mechanisms. Institutions and member states role. Session 6: Practical implementation of the new foreign policy (II). EU responses to Arab spring: a practical approach. New cooperation instruments in the Mediterranean. Priority areas and cooperation results. Session 7. Simulation: Agenda applied to research. Analyzing EU in regard with the Arab Spring and defining research lines.
- EU external action: A legal-practical analysis. Dr. Esther Zapater. Lecturer of Public International Law UAB. Session 1. EU external action: concepts. The EU, international actor or subject? EU subjectivity and member states. Distinction between external action, foreign policy and common security. Examples of subjectivity. Session 2. Goals and principles of EU external action. Goals of EU external action. Respect of fundamental rights: democratic conditionality. Flexibility of the external action: reinforced cooperation, structured cooperation. Coherence and external action, solidarity clause among the member states. Session 3. New institutional architecture. The institutions role regarding representation and formulation of external action: interactions between the EU President, the Council Presidency, the High Representative, the President of the Commission and the President of the European Parliament. EU foreign policy implementation: EU External Service and the Comission role. International treaties procedures. Institutional debate regarding new equilibrium in Lisbon Treaty. Session 4. Analyzing transfer of international competencies to the EU. Attribution principle. Explicit competences. External competences derived from internal competences: the principle of parallelism. External competences and EU goals (article 352 TFUE) Delimitation of external competencies between the EU and the member states: exclusive competencies and concurrent competencies. Problems of delimitation: examples. Session 5. Legal and financial instruments to develop communitarian actions. Unilateral communitarian actions with external projection. International agreements as a privileged instrument. Typology. Implementation of international agreements. Financial instruments (2006 reform). Session 6. Dimensions of external action: traditional and strategic. Trade policy: Instruments. Aid policy: Instruments. Communitarian dimensions (agriculture, fishing, transport).
- EU external action: Cases in security and defense. Dr. Alfons Gonzàlez. Lecturer of International Public Law URV. Session 1. EU missions in the CSDP framework. Typology of CSDP missions. Basics of CSDP missions. CSDP missions goals. Session 2. Relations between EU and NATO regarding security and defense. EU-NATO relations: The legal framework. EU-NATO relations: The strategic framework. EU-NATO relations: Operational framework. Political problems and practices in EU-NATO relations. Session 3. Case study (practical session following PBL methodology).
- EU external action: International Relations perspective. Dr. Esther Barbé. Professor of International Relations UAB. Session 1. Power and identity: EU as an international actor. EU power: capabilities, instruments and influence. Power dimensions.EU international identity: roles and norms. Case Study: European Strategies. Session 2. Neighbourhood policy: a dilemma on stability, security and transformation. How to transform EU neighbourhood? ENP dimension: sectors and regions. Exporting norms : power and identity of the EU. Europeanization, internationalization and coordination. Session 3. Transformative power: conflict prevention. EU roles in the international system: Milieu goals. Concepts and instruments (toolbox). Post conflict: democracy promotion, elections monitoring Session 4. EU and multilateral institutions. Promotion of multilateralism. EU representation and participation models in multilateral diplomacy. EU and United Nations: Representation, participation and priorities. The EU influence in multilateral institutions as a paradox.
Methodology
Methodolgy is based on four working frameworks: Lectures, students presentations, debates between students and invited lecturers (PHD researchers, practitioners) and practical cases or simulation sessions.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Master class with ICT support | 25 | 1 | 9, 6, 5, 7, 4 |
| Tutorials and regular monitoring of activities | 112 | 4.48 | 1, 12, 7, 3, 4 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Seminar activities and practical sessions | 50 | 2 | 1, 7, 3 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Individual study and work related to seminars and practical sessions | 188 | 7.52 | 1, 11, 9, 5, 8, 7, 3, 4 |
Assessment
The unit is based on continuous assessment. The assessment is responsibility of each lecturer (27% Esther Barbé, 27% Esther Zapater, 33% Pol Morillas and 13% Alfonso González).
Each lecturer instructs the students regarding their assessment criteria. In general, delivering essays (50%) and delivering exercises plus participation during the course (50%).
Presence in the class room is mandatory; under 80% of presence entails failing the unit. In order to pass the unit the minimum mark is 5, at least in three out of the four sub-units (lecturers).
There are no additional tests during the academic year. Students must necessarily succeed, following the lectures, being present in the sessions , delivering essays and participating in practical sessions.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class discussion and follow-up practical session | 50% | 0 | 0 | 10, 2, 9, 6, 5, 8, 7, 3 |
| Delivery of assignments previously assigned | 50% | 0 | 0 | 1, 11, 12, 2, 6, 7, 3, 4 |
Bibliography
AAVV, The European Union: An Ongoing Process of Integration. Liber Amicorum Afred E. Kellermann, TCM Asser Instituut, The Hague, 2004.
Anderson, S., Crafting EU security policy. In pursuit of a European identity, Boulder, Lynne Rienner 2008.
BARBÉ, E. (ed.) Política exterior europea, Ariel, Barcelona, 2000. Barbé, E. (ed.), ¿Existe una brecha transatlántica? Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea tras la crisis de Irak, Madrid, Libros de la Catarata, 2005.
BARBÉ, E. (ed.), La Unión Europea más allás de sus fronteras. ¿Hacia la transformación del Mediterráneo y Europa oriental?, Madrid, Tecnos, 2010.
Bickerton, Ch. J., European Union Foreign Policy: From Effectiveness to Functionality, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2011.
BONVICINI, G.; TOSATO, G.I., (eds.), Le relazioni internazionali dell'Unione europea dopo i trattati de Amsterdam e Nizza, G. Giappichelli Editore, Torino, 2003.
Bretherton, Ch. y Vogler, J., The European Union as a Global Actor, London: Routledge, 2008.
Cameron, F., An Introduction to European Foreign Policy, London, Routledge, 2007.
Carlsnaes, W., H. Sjursen, y B. White, eds, Contemporary European Foreign Policy, London: Sage, 2004.
Casarini, N. y C. Musu (eds.), European Foreign Policy in an evolving international system. The road towards convergence, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
CREMONA, M. y B. DE WITTE, EU Foreign relations Law. Constitutional Fundamentals, Hart Publishing, 2008.
Dannreuther,R., European Union Foreign and Security Policy. Towards a neighbourhood strategy, London: Routledge, 2004.
Dashwood, A. y M. Maresceau, Law and practice of EU external relations : salient features of a changing landscape, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2008.
DE BAERE, B., Constitutional Principles of EU external relations, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008.
EECKHOUT, P., External Relations of Europen Union. Legal and Constitutional Foundations,Oxford, OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford, 2005.
Elgström, O. y M. Smith (eds.), The European Union Role's in International Politics: Concepts and Analysis, Londres, Routledge, 2006.
ESTEVE, F y M. PI, (eds.), La proyección exterior de la UE en el Tratado Constitucional, Fundación CIDOB, Barcelona, 2005.
FENET, A. (et al.), Droit des relations extérieures de l'Union européenne, LITEC, 2007
Gamble, A. y D. Lane (eds.), The European Union and World Politics, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Ginsberg, R., The European Union in International Politics: Baptism by Fire, Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001.
GRILLER, ST. y B. WEIDEL (eds.) External Economic Relations and Foreign Policy in the European Union Springer, 2002.
Hill, C. y M. Smith (eds.), International Relations and the European Union, 2a edición, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Hill, Ch. y K. E. Smith (eds.), European Foreign Policy: Key Documents, London: Routledge, 2000.
HILLION, C.; KOUTRAKOS, P., Mixed Agreements revisited. The EU and its Member States in the World, Hart Publishing, 2010.
Joergensen, K. E.(Ed.), The European Union and International Organizations, London, Routledge, 2009.
Keukeleire, S. y J MacNaughtan, The foreign policy of the European Union, Nueva York, Palgrave, 2008.
Khaliq, U., Ethical Dimensions ofthe Foreign Policy of the European Union: A Legal Appraisal, Cambridge, CambridgeUniversity Press, 2008.
Knodt, M. y S. Princen, (eds.), Understanding the European Union's External Relations, London, Routledge, 2003.
Software
No use of "programari".