This version of the course guide is provisional until the period for editing the new course guides ends.

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Dimensions of the European Union Foreign Action

Code: 40893 ECTS Credits: 10
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
European Integration OT 0

Contact

Name:
Marta Isern Busquets
Email:
marta.isern@uab.cat

Teachers

Susana Beltran Garcia
Montserrat Pi Llorens
Francesc Serra Massansalvador
Ana Ayuso Pozo
Oriol Costa Fernandez

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to take this module. In case of requiring any complement from the teaching team, the necessary bibliography will be provided.


Objectives and Contextualisation

- To know the capacities and instruments of the EU to act in the international arena.

- To examine from a practical perspective the potentialities and limits of the institutional architecture in the external sphere in specific cases.

- To analyze the main dimensions of the EU's external action, both in its traditional dimension (trade policy and development cooperation) and its strategic dimension in geographical areas (Russia, USA, Latin America, Maghreb, etc.) and material areas (energy and environment, human rights, immigration).

 


Competences

  • Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
  • 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).
  • 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.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
  2. Assess the strategy and results of EU external action.
  3. Clarify the EU's status within other international organisations and multilateral frameworks.
  4. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  5. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously
  6. Identify EU policies in the principal regional frameworks in which it carries out its external action.
  7. Identify the results of EU action in other international organisations and multilateral frameworks.
  8. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  9. Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.

Content

Session 1: Presentation and methodology module: Dra. Esther Zapater (16-18h: ) 2h.

Inaugural lecture: speaker to be confirmed (18-20h). 2h

 

Session: Neighborhood Policy. Eastern Dimension and EU-Russia relations. Dr. Francesc Serra (16-20h.) 4h.

 

 

Session 3: Neighborhood Policy. Eastern Dimension and EU-Russia relations. Dr. Francesc Serra (16-19h.) 3 h.

 

 

Session 4: Neighborhood Policy. Eastern Dimension and EU-Russia relations. Dr. Francesc Serra (16-19h.) 3 h.

 

 

Session 5: Development cooperation policy and Latin America: Dr. Ana Ayuso (16-20h.). 4 h.

 

 

Session 6: Development cooperation policy and Latin America: Dr. Ana Ayuso (16-19h.). 3h.

 

 

 

Session 7: Development cooperation policy and Latin America: Dr. Ana Ayuso (4-7 p.m.). 3h

 

 

Session 8: EU trade policy: (16-19h.) 3h.

 

 

Session 9: EU trade policy: Dr. (16-19h.) 3h.

 

 

Session 10: EU Trade Policy:  (16-18h) 2h.

 

Session 11: EU immigration policy: Dra. Esther Zapater (16-19h.) 3h.

 

Session 12: EU environmental policy: Dr. Oriol Costa (16-18h.) 3h.

 

Session 13: EU environmental policy: Dr. Oriol Costa (18-20h) 2h.

 

Session 14: EU Human Rights and External Action: Dra. Susana Beltrán (16-18h) 2h.

 

Session 15: EU Human Rights and External Action: Dra. Susana Beltrán (16-19h) 3h.

 

 

External lectures: 5h. (1 ECTS)

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Practical classes 30 1.2 1, 7, 8, 5, 2
Theoretical classes 20 0.8 7, 4, 8
Type: Supervised      
Simulations 186 7.44 1, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 8, 5, 2

The sessions will combine a lecture-type presentation with active participation by the students. For this purpose, the documents that must be previously prepared for each session will be indicated and practical cases must be carried out, which will be delivered and discussed in class. It is mandatory to hand them in personally.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Commentary on Immigration and Human Rights 20 3 0.12 1, 9, 7
Environmental policy analysis 20 3 0.12 1, 9, 6, 3, 7, 4, 8, 5, 2
Informe sobre política de cooperación al desarrollo y América Latina 20 3 0.12 1, 9, 6, 3, 4, 5
Neighborhood and Rusia Policy. 20 3 0.12 6, 4, 2
Neighborhood Policy. 20 2 0.08 1, 9

The final grade will be obtained from the arithmetic average of each of the indicated activities. In case of not passing the module, the coordinator will indicate the exercises to be reevaluated.


Bibliography

Bibliografia básica

Hill, C.; Smith, M., International Relations and the EU, 2nd ed. 2011, Ed. Oxford

Cardwell, J.P., EU external Relations Law and Policy in the Post-Lisbon Era, T.M.C. Asser Press, Springer, 2012.

Koutrakos, P., (Ed), The European Union’s external relations: a year after Lisbon Treaty, CLEER Working Papers, 2011/3.

FRASER, Cameron: An Introduction to European Foreign Policy, 2nd. ed., Routledge, New York, 2012.

Cremona, M., Developments in EU external Relations Law, Oxford Scholarship Online, 2009.

 

 Specific readings and documents will be indicated for each of the sessions.

 

Internet Resources

http://europa.eu

http://ec.europa.eu/world/index_es.htm

http://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de

http://www.ceps.be

http://www.theepc.be

http://www.notre-europe.asso.fr

http://www.euractiv.com

http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org

http://www.ifri.fr



Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 Spanish second semester afternoon