Ateneo - UPO

The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the process of European integration, tracing its development from its inception to the present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on the sources of European law, the institutional framework, legislative and judicial procedures, and the relationship between EU law and domestic legal systems. The course will also explore European citizenship and the protection of fundamental rights, the core economic freedoms, the Common Agricultural Policy, competition law, taxation and state aid rules, as well as the economic and monetary policy of the Union.

International students may arrange with the course instructor to use a textbook in their native language, provided the content is verified and deemed equivalent.

The course aims to provide students with a thorough understanding of the process of European integration, exploring its historical, political, and legal foundations, as well as the essential concepts needed to grasp the current institutional framework of the European Union, its relationship with national legal systems, the procedures for the adoption of EU acts, the impact of EU case law, the values of the Union, and fundamental rights and citizenship. The course will also examine the Union’s main economic policies and competences to enable students to understand the functioning of the internal market in the current historical phase. By the end of the course, students are expected to demonstrate a comprehensive awareness of the meaning, trajectory, and current state of European integration; to be able to address and resolve practical cases in light of the EU legislation and case law covered during the course; and to clearly explain the relationship between legal systems, with a solid understanding of the mechanisms of interaction and the effects of EU rules on individuals. Particular attention will be devoted to the use of appropriate language, to the acquisition of technical terminology specific to the subject, and to the ability to present the acquired knowledge in a clear, concise, and logically structured manner.

Compliance with prerequisite requirements as established by the degree programme regulations. Here following is reproduced art. 18th of the current regulation of the course: ART. 18 Prerequisite Rules For the orderly conduct of teaching and learning processes, the following prerequisites are established: The English Placement Test must precede: English Constitutional Law must precede: Public Economic Law Administrative Law Public Procurement Law Tax Law International Economic Law EU Law Civil Procedure Law Criminal Procedure Law Criminal Law Political Economy must precede: Public Finance Private Law must precede: Advanced Private Law Commercial Law International Economic Law Civil Procedure Law Labour Law Business Crisis Law Corporate Governance Law Banking Law Industrial Law Agri-food Market Law Civil Law Administrative Law must precede: Public Procurement Law Commercial Law must precede: Business Crisis Law Corporate Governance Law Banking Law Industrial Law Civil Procedure Law Business Administration must precede: Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis Business Crisis and Corporate Governance Structures Business Valuation International Accounting Standards Economics of Financial Intermediaries Managerial Incentives Insurance LAW 25/02/2025 page 10/37 Public Finance must precede: Public Choice Economics of Regulation and Competition Law and Economics Capital and Taxation Economics Health Economics Environmental Economic Policy Quantitative Methods must precede: Fundamentals of Business Analytics Advanced Private Law must precede: Civil Law Roman Law must precede: Foundations of European Law In accordance with the provisions set out in point no. 1, additional prerequisites may be recommended by individual Professors in their course syllabi.

Lectures (including, where applicable, co-teaching), in-depth seminars, and practical exercises.

Students are required to have a copy of the Treaties (TEU, TFEU, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU), which can be downloaded from the European Union’s website eur-lex.eu or purchased in bookstores (any edition is acceptable). Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Oral examination: three questions. Two questions will cover the institutional part, and one will focus on the Union’s policies. At the reasoned request of the students rather than in oral form, the examination may be held in written form.

Institutional Part: Brief historical overview of the process of European integration within the evolving context of international law; Institutional framework of the European Union; EU sources of law (primary, intermediate, and secondary); Decision-making process; Relationship with national legal systems; Protection of rights and the activity of the Court of Justice of the EU: preliminary rulings, review of the conduct of Member States and EU institutions, annulment actions; Values and fundamental rights; EU citizenship. Special Part: The policies of the European Union; The internal market and the fundamental economic freedoms; competition and EU economic policies; sustainability and its impact on EU economic policies

Students will be expected, by the end of the course, to demonstrate: an awareness of the European integration process and its main stages of development; an understanding of the legal nature of the European Union and its role in international law and global trade relations; an awareness of the EU institutional framework, decision-making processes, the relationship between legal systems, and the impact of European integration on individuals (including fundamental rights and EU values); knowledge of the Union’s main economic policies. Furthermore, students should demonstrate that they have acquired: an adequate technical vocabulary; the ability to present legal concepts in a clear, coherent, and structured manner; the ability to address and resolve specific cases on the basis of the legal provisions and case-law studied during the course.