• Understand and discuss the dynamics and consequences of European integration, the role of its institutions and the central role of the single market.
• Identify the most important dimensions and rationales of EU policies
• Evaluate the impact of EU policies on the business environment and elaborate possible strategies of adaptation for firms operating in Europe
• Anlayze the economic and trade relations between the EU and the rest of world
• Identify and discuss the importance of the challenges facing the European Union's economy and the policies aimed at enhancing its competitiveness.

In recent years the expansion and dynamics of the European market have created many opportunities for European companies. Moreover, the changing institutional and regulatory environment of the European Union (EU), and in particular the double wave of deregulation and supranational re-regulation, have had an increasing impact on European business, creating new opportunities as well as new threats and challenges. National and multi-national companies have therefore progressively learned the importance of monitoring the changes in EU primary and secondary legislation, evaluating the impact on their business and dynamically adapting the company’s strategy to the new conditions. The aim of the course is to present an overview of the EU decision making system as well as the most business-relevant EU policies. It is the ambition of the course that students will have the necessary understanding to be better able to develop the strategic potentials of their companies when operating in the European market. The course comprises presentations about the EU institutions, the Single Market, the Euro, competition policy, industrial policy, environmental policy, and more. 

The Course's development of competences:
The students will develop a general but practical knowledge of the EU policies that are most relevant for business, and will learn to evaluate the impact of EU primary and secondary legislation on the different business sectors.
 

The course is based on a compendium with the following chapters and articles:

1. The EU multi-level system of governance: historical evolution and institutional players

- Suder (2012), Doing Business in Europe, Sage, pp. 15-50

- Cini & Borragàn (eds.) (2013), European Union Politics, Oxford University Press, ch. 10 (The European Commission), 11 (The Council of the EU) and 12 (The European Parliament), pp. 129-171

2. The decision-making process, legislative acts and lobbying

- Cini & Borragàn (eds.) (2013), Policy making in the European Union, Oxford University Press, ch. 15, pp. 199-212.

- Coen (2009), “Business lobbying in the European Union”, in Coen and Richardson, Lobbying in the European Union: Institutions, Actors and Issues”, Oxford University Press, pp. 19-38, 145-168.

3. An imperfect monetary union: EMU and the imbalances of Eurozone

- El-Agraa (2011), The European Union: Economics and Policies, Cambridge University Press, ch. 10 (theory of monetary integration), ch. 11 (EU economic and monetary integration) and ch. 12 (The operation of EMU) p. 147-193;

- Soros (2012) “Remarks at the Festival of Economics” (transcript), Trento: June 2, 2012

4. Making the common market: economic rationales and the legal enforcement

- Fligstein (2008), Euroclash: The EU, European Identity, and the Future of Europe, Oxford University Press, Ch. 2 and 3 pp. 33-88


5. Regulating EU labour markets

Desmond, D. (2010) Economic performance: Growth and Jobs (chapter 14), pp. 415-450

Falkner, G. / O. Treib (2009) Bargaining and lobbying in EU social policy (chapter 13), in: D. Coen and J. Richardson (eds) Lobbying the European Union: Institutions, Actors and Issues, Oxford University Press, pp. 256-276.


6. In-depth case study I:
Developing the internal market for energy

- Genoud and Finger (2006), “Electricity regulation in Europe”, in Reshaping European Gas and Electricity Industries: Regulation, Markets and Business Strategies, Elsevier, Ch. 2 pp. 29-67

- Nowak, B. (2010), “Energy Market of the European Union: Common or Segmented?”, The Electricity Journal, Volume 23, Issue 10, pp. 27-37.


7. In-depth case study II: Developing the internal market for air transport

- Kassim and Handley Stevens (2010), Air Transport and the European Union, Palgrave, chapters 3, 5, 6 pp. 40-56, 81-129

8. Corporate response to European integration

- Suder (2012), Doing Business in Europe, Sage, pp. 135-176

9. Competition Policy and Competitiveness

- Stephen Martin (2007) “Competition Policy” in Mike Artis and Frederik Nixson, Economics of the European Union, Oxford University Press, pp. 105-129

- Porter, Michael (1990) The Comparative Advantage of Nations, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1990, pp. 73-93.

10. Technology and innovation policy

To be defined