INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN UNION LAW
This course introduces students to the unique system of European Union law, shaping rules and regulations of one of the biggest economies in the world.
Course Description
Course aims
This course introduces students to the unique system of European Union law, shaping rules and regulations of one of the biggest economies in the world. The course will help students acquire fundamental knowledge about the powers of the European Union (EU), its institutions, and the responsibilities of participating Member States. Students will learn about the structure and impact of EU law, and the role of key EU institutions in the process of lawmaking in the EU. In addition, they will find out how EU law affects and transforms national legal systems of the Member States.
Expected outcomes
On completion of this course, you will become familiar with the system of EU law and its legal acts. You will have a clear overview of the powers and competences of the EU. You will be able to recognise and understand the role of EU legal acts in national legislation and policymaking.
Course overview
Unit One. What is EU law?
Unit Two. EU powers and competences
Unit Three. The legal sources of EU law
Unit Four. How is secondary EU law adopted?
Unit Five. How EU law affects national law
Curriculum
- Student code
- Unit One. What is EU law?
- Step 1. Overview
- Step 2. Why EU law was developed: aims, tasks and solutions
- Step 3. The EU as a creation of law and a Union based on law
- Step 4. Why is EU law unique?
- Step 5. Summary
- Unit Two. EU powers and competences
- Step 1. Overview
- Step 2. Transfer of powers by EU Member States
- Step 3. Exclusive EU competences
- Step 4. Shared and complementary competences
- Step 5. Summary
- Unit Three. The legal sources of EU law
- Step 1. Overview
- Step 2. Primary EU law and EU institutions
- Step 3. International EU agreements
- Step 4. Secondary EU law
- Unit Four. How is secondary EU law adopted?
- Step 1. Key players in the decision-making process
- Step 2. Adoption of legislative acts: the Ordinary legislative procedure
- Step 3. Adoption of delegated and implementing acts
- Step 4. Case-law of the European Court of Justice
- Step 5. Summary
- Unit Five. How EU law affects national law
- Step 1. Overview
- Step 2. Primacy and direct applicability
- Step 3. How are regulations and directives different?
- Step 4. Implementation and monitoring
- Conclusion
- Conclusion
- List of external resources
About Author
Asst. Prof. Dr. Vihar Georgiev is a lecturer at the Department of European Studies at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". He has over 20 publications on the institutional mechanism of the EU, the legitimacy of EU institutions, comitology, EU migration policies, and EU border security policy. He also teaches at the Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration in Sofia. Vihar Georgiev is a member of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), the American Political Science Association (APSA), and is a referee for the Journal of European Public Policy, the Journal of Common Market Studies, and the European Security Journal.