This course examines the political and institutional framework and the functioning of the European Union. It analyses the role of the main institutional organs of the Union, emphasizing the role of inter-institutional interdependence, the significance of outside interventions and the relations between the member states and the Union. Its main objective is to study the dynamics of European integration in the passage of time, in order to examine whether the current “system” is indeed a homogeneous political system, to define its form and characteristics and to assess its future evolution. This approach allows us to compare the main characteristics of the EU political system with the corresponding characteristics of national political systems in order to define and explain the ensuing differences and to better understand the unique nature of the European Union.

• aquire a comperhensive view of the institutional system and function of the EU
• understand the particularities and the multilevel nature of the EU political system
• be able to follow and interpret political and economic developments in the EU in the light of the inter-dependencies between the national political system, the EU political system and the international environment
• possess the necessary intellectual baggage in order to study particular aspects of the institutional process of the EU and/ or examine specific forms of governance with a significant European dimension