Ateneo - UPO

The course will analyse the main topics related to the EU institutional framework and the economic, political and juridical integration, in order to provide a comprehensive and dynamic survey of the current status of the European integration process.
In particular the content will cover two different areas: the "general" part will analyse the EU institutions, sources (also in the perspective of the relationship between the two legal orders, both the European and the national ones), juridical procedures in the ambit of the ECJ jurisdiction, fundamental rights and the EU citizenship. The "special" part will be dedicated to citizenship rights ant to the freedom of movement of EU citizens, with reference to the case-law of the EU Court of Justice.

Foreign Students can use a Handbook in English or their mother tongue with the agreement of the teacher.

The course aims at transferring knowledge regarding the institutional structure of the European Union (institutions, sources, relationship with national legal orders, judiciary proceedings etc.) and the EU Single Market.
At the end of the course students will have acquired the ability to express themselves without any difficulty and to have gained a good consciousness in the juridical analysis of the EU law, as well as of the European integration process (also from the perspective of further studies in the international law field).
In particular, with regard to KNOWLEDGE: the course aims at providing students with an understanding of the European integration process and its historical, political, economic and juridical premises; knowledge of the EU institutional framework; elements of the juridical relationship between the European Union law and national legal orders; the proceedings in the ambit of the ECJ jurisdiction.
With regard to COMPETENCES: the course aims at stimulating the critical assessment of the notions acquired, in particular through the analysis of European integration (also monitoring news reports about the European Union, an in-depth study of specific sensitive issues related to human rights or the analysis- from the juridical point of view- of current events etc.).
Students' linguistic knowledge, ability to express juridical contents and to synthesize ideas will be improved by working in groups, by the analysis of the ECJ case-law and by issuing reports about relevant topics of the European Union discourse.
With regard to ABILITIES: at the end of the course, thanks to the knowledge acquired, students will be able to solve cases related to the economic freedoms and the respect of fundamental rights in the European Union law; analyse rules, judgments, documents regarding the topics of the course with a good level of awareness and comprehension; develop a comprehensive overview of the European integration process and the rule of the European Union in the current global scenario.

Specific prerequisites can be imposed by the respective didactive regulations. For LMG (Law) students: Constitutional law.

Lectures and individual/group works dedicated to case-law, specific juridical issues, EU rules etc. students are strongly recommended to attend classes and to apply for DIR platform, in order to access the teaching materials and to get news about the course.

Meetings with students will be organised from time to time. Students are invited to send e-mails to stefano.saluzzo@uniupo.it. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-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.

Written Essay. 3 questions: two questions about the "institutional part" and one dedicated to the Single Market issues.
Questions may cover general issues or specific cases to be solved on the basis of ECJ case-law. The final grade is determined on the basis of the following criteria: relevance and logical coherence of the answer; expository and terminological correctness; ability to argue on the basis of relevant legislation and case law. All questions must be answered to obtain a pass mark.

The will cover the following topics:
- the European integration process; and developments; the fundamental "values" of the European Union and their protection;
- The EU institutions and the inter-institutional decision process (in particular: the European Parliament; the Council; the Commission; the European Council; the European Court of Justice; the European Central Bank etc.); the other EU bodies and agencies (e.g. the European Economic Social Committee; the European Committee of the Regions; the specialized agencies and their functions etc.); the powers of the EU; the principles of transferral, subsidiarity, proportionality, sincere cooperation, the inter-institutional equilibrium etc.;
- the relationship between the European Union law and national legal orders (direct effect; supremacy etc.);
- the jurisdiction of the CJEU and the main judicial proceedings;
- fundamental rights in the European Law;
- the EU citizenship.

At the end of the course students will have acquired the following skills: awareness of the European integration process in its historical, political, economic and juridical premises; knowledge of the EU institutional framework and of the sources of the European Union law; knowledge of the juridical relationship between the two legal orders and of the judicial proceedings in the ambit of the ECJ jurisdiction; knowledge of the "material" EU law (with specific reference to the four fundamental freedoms in the EU Single Market).
Students must also demonstrate that they have acquired a good competence in terms of analysis of cases, texts or EU rules, capability to identify the fundamental elements of a specific topic (synthesis), find solutions to the most common issues in the ambit of the EU law and of its relationship with national legal orders/national rules. Furthermore students will have acquired the following abilities: skill at acquiring specific notions of EU law; skill at addressing and solving the most common case studies; the ability to make an autonomous assessment with regard to the current evolution of the European integration (also with reference to the analysis of news reports and the main juridical and political issues debated in Europe).