OCEU 2140 - EU Trade Policy: Navigating Uncertainty

***UPDATED for 2024/25*** To be updated very soon

Over the past decade, seismic developments at the global level, such as the pandemic, the climate crisis, and the war in Ukraine, have profoundly changed the international order.

As a result, the EU has had to adapt its role on the world stage and the tools at its disposal, including one of most effective ones: the EU’s trade policy. It is thus key to understand how EU trade policy is formulated, and the opportunities it offers in shaping the EU’s role in a changing world.

The course will first explain how the EU’s trade policy is developed by studying the actors, instruments, and procedures involved. It will then be divided into geographic and thematic focus lectures, in order to understand how the EU’s engagement with third countries and different issues shape its trade policy.

The course will have a strong practical component, as the students will engage with case studies and interact with Brussels-based policy makers.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Coping with the complex system of EU trade policy actors and decision making process in International Trade
• Understanding how European Trade Policy is interweaved with other policies
• Becoming familiar with the EU Trade Policy language, words, and acronyms
• Having the essential background to codify news related to International Trade

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

Students will have the opportunity to talk with high officials and representatives of the EU institutions and will have a map of who is in charge of different dossiers. Moreover they will have the opportunity to better understand which professional careers are related to EU international trade. Finally, they will have the possibility to work on official documents of the European institutions and they will develop the needed skills to allow them to write similar documents.

The course requires a good level of understanding of EU’s functioning..

The midterm exams will be marked and returned to the students on the first class after the week in which the midterm took place, with a sample of the correct answers and an explanation of the grades.

The final will be returned two weeks after the students complete it.

Feedbacks concerning the simulations will be provided during the classes.

• In-class participation during the course 10%
• Individual or group simulations during the course 20%
• Mid-term exam 30%
• Final in-class exam 40%

• In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
• Online learning activities: some online sessions (6/8 hours ca)
• Reading and Preparation for Class: 2,5 hours per session / 60 hours a semester
• Research and Preparation for Group Work: 16 hours
• Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 40 hours a semester