Contemporary European Politics 2020.  INT 351
Teacher: David Rees
Head of Programme: Albrecht Sonntag  Secretary:   Syllabus
Evaluation: Mid-term test 20%. Group presentation: 20%. Exam 60%

Programme 2020


Documents

Presentations and films
Lesson 1.
Tuesday 6 October
16h30-19h30
Room J808

Epistemology, Empires and the EU
1. Epistemology
3. EU Members
6. Supranational European bodies (picture)
7. Supranational European bodies (key)
8. (Quiz in teams) EU Member countries
The future size of the EU / EEA
2. A history of empires (from 3000BC)
4. How to Join the EU (EU in Turkey. 2m)
5. European Enlargement (film from the IIEA)

Lesson 2.
Wednesday 07 October
09h30-12h30
Room H614

Enlargement 1.
European levels of integration
Case studies: Turkey and Cyprus
The Copenhagen criteria
Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries
EU European Neighbourhood states

A brief history of EU enlargement (film from The Economist)

Turkey and the EU (pdf DR)
Turkey and EU immigration
Introduction to the Armenian genocide (14m. Facing history and ourselves)
French genocide - book
French genocide - film (English subtitles available) 19m
Lesson 3.
Wednesday 21 October
09h30-12h30
Room J802

EU structure and difficulties


Preparation of presentations 'Solving Europe'

Research and presentation groups


What do you think are the major social, economic and political problems facing the European Union today?
Student presentation Groups

Solving Europe Presentations

 Employment

 Immigration
 The Euro
 Global warming
  EU Defence
  Environment

 Lack of Democracy
 ERASMUS and education
 Pollution
 Agriculture

Lesson 4.
Wednesday 28 October
09h30-12h30
Room J808


Group presentations: 'Solving Europe' (25% of final evaluation) Revision for the Mid-Term Test

1. European Defence
2. European Agriculture
3. Global Warming
4. The Euro
5. Democracy

Lesson 5.
Tuesday 03 November
13h30-16h30
Room Amphi Churchill

'Solving Europe' presentations
Continue presentations: 'Solving Europe'. 1. The Environment
2. ERASMUS and  Education
3. Pollution
4. Immigration
5. Employment
Lesson 6.
Wednesday 04 November
09h30-12h30
Room J807


Common Agriculture Policy


CAP pdf. (EU Commission)
Farm Subsidies (farmsubsidy.org)

Agricultural import duties
US food subsidies

1. Introduction to CAP (video)
2. CAP (pdf DR)
3. Farm Subsidies film (farmsubsidy.org)
4. MacDonalds and food industrialisation
5. Feedlots
6. EU-MERCOSUR agreement signed
7. EU-MERCOSUR trade agreement (Fern 25)
8. EU-Mercosur trade agreement and EU agriculture
9. MERCOSUR trade agreement and European Beef
10. The Meatrix (video)
11. Questions (in your presentation groups)
12. Acronyms
 Lesson 7.
Tuesday 17 November
09h30-12h30
Room J801

The Troika and Debt Control
Greek Ten-year bonds
Greek unemployment
The Privatisation of Greece
European privatisation of water

Greece, the Troika, debt control and the change from a solidarity to predatory model.

Greek debt crisis


Lesson 8.
Wednesday 18 November
09h30-12h30
Room C208

Lobbying in the EU 

Lobbying Transparency Register (European Commission)
BEUC
Fleishman Hillard
Grayling
Hill and Knowlton
Emily Rees

Direct and indirect lobbying: Danone

Biggest lobbyists in Brussels
Philip Morris in Brussels

Student case studies
2019
Danone
Facebook
Google
Oxfam
Sanofi
Scania
Tesla
Wikipedia
2018
Coca Cola
E-privacy
Europeche
Google
Mercosur
Monsanto
Volkswagen

Billy wants a dog (flv) (US)
Lobbyists (flv) (US)
What does a lobbyist do? (flv) (Germany)
Lobbying presentation (pdf)

Regional fund recipients

CAP recipients




Lesson 9
Tuesday 24 November
16h30-19h30
Room J808

EU External Trade Agreements / Negotiations


















Instructions

EU Trade Policy
1. Read EU Trade Policy pdf
2. Watch the video EU Trade Policy video (European Commission)
3. Open EU Trade negotiations (DG Trade). Scroll down and find 'Agreements in Focus'. Choose one trade deal and take notes (in preparation for your exam).

ISDS
Many Trade Agreements include an ISDS. This is strongly criticised by many NGOs.
1. Watch What is ISDS?
2. Watch ISDS in Australia / US Trade Agreement
3. Here are some ISDS Case Studies .
Choose one case study (or find another one) and do some research. Again, take notes of your case study in preparation for your exam.

1. Watch Global Trade Agreements (TedTalks)
EU - MERCOSUR Trade Agreement
2. Watch EU Mercosur trade agreement agreed by the EU Commission
3. Watch EU Mercosur trade agreement and agriculture (EuroNews)

Lesson 10
Wednesday 25 November
09h30-12h30
Room J808
World Food Security
Food speculation
Cereals trading charts (TradingCharts.com)

Food prices 
Food riots Community Channel (video 5m)
Global Food Crisis All voices.com (video 4m)
World poverty
World Food Security to 2050 (DR)

FAO  2017 report on world food security (pdf  180 pages)


Lesson 11
Tuesday 1 December
13h30-16h30
Room J808
EU budget
13h30
EU video - budget
EU budget update (2017)

14h00-16h00
Research. Open guidelines

EU Budget 2014-2020
Results by Project
EU Budget facts and myths

16h00-16h30
Tobin Tax and FTT (4m)

European Financial Transfer Tax (FTT) (DukasCopy 2.5m)
David Cameron Anti-FTT

For further information (in French), see:
ATTAC, France

Lesson 12.
Wednesday 02 December
09h30-12h30
Room J808

The Single Market
Trade Wars
Revision
Intra-EU competition - pre/post Euro competition and Economic Darwinism.
wages, social costs, environmental costs, government investment, subsidies and tax breaks
Privatisation of public services

Privatising French SNCF?
Posting workers
EU minimum salaries (picture)


Exam revision 
The Single Market is 20 years old
EU Single market video
The Single Market (pdf DR based on the two films)

The WTO
Banana Trade Wars
Airbus / Boeing trade war
Rocquefort cheese in Airbus / Boeing trade war




Lesson 13.
Wednesday 09 December
09h30-12h30
Room C034

Brexit

France's veto of UK EEC entry
We Want our Money Back (Thatcher)
The UK rebate
Brexit update (humour)
Brexit timetable
Brexit pdf (Rees)
Brexit and the Irish border
Brexit fishing map
Scottish independence
Brexit and Airbus
Brexit and Airbus. Stats
Brexit and car sales
Brexit and UK - EU trade
UK non-EU trade
Post-Brexit trade
Pound sterling to US dollar
Pound sterling to Euro

Lesson 14.
Thursday 10 December
09h30-12h30
Room J808

The future of the EU
French Covid debt
The end of the Euro?
The end of the European Union?
EU problems. Yanis Varoufakis. DiEM25
The German Miracle
Euro Structural Inflexibility (pdf DR)
French Covid-19-related debt

General questions: EU, geo-politics, personal, predictions etc.
Exam.
Wednesday 16 December
14h00-16h00
Online Moodle
Final exam 2h (60%)