Admission requirements
Registration for the Minor European Union Studies or admission to the pre-master European Union Studies.
Description
‘Lobbying’ often invokes images of large powerful companies unduly pressuring politicians. In reality however, lobbying is an essential part of European decision-making. Everyone lobbies; civil society and businesses lobby the EU institutions, and the institutions lobby each other intensively too. This provides a vital source of information on a dossier and on the opinions held by stakeholders in different Member States. Lobbying in the EU can be quite a challenge though due to the international setting and complicated procedures of EU decision-making. The course will explore the role, nature, challenges and strategies of EU lobbying in-depth.
The emphasis of this course is on practice, employing the recent experience of the teacher as a Member of the European Parliament. Throughout the course, students will be working in small groups on a case study, using a dossier currently debated in the European Parliament. Near the end of the semester, they will be able to independently write an Advocacy Strategy on that dossier.
Course objectives
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the role of lobbying in the democratic process of the EU and to familiarise them with the tools and strategies used to lobby the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. They will be able to apply this knowledge in practice.
Timetable
See Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminars, with mainly lectures in the first hour and practical work on current case studies in the second hour each week
Course load
Total course load is 5 ec x 28 hours = 140 hours:
- Course participation – attendance is compulsory (12 × 2 hours = 24 hours);
- Time for studying the compulsory literature and preparation for the lectures (4 × 12 hours = 48 hours);
- Preparing for class presentation (8 hours);
- Researching and writing the end of term paper (60 hours).
Assessment method
The final mark will be a combination of the following marks obtained during the classes:
- Take active part in class discussions and group work (20%);
- Give a presentation (20%);
- Write an Advocacy Strategy using a current case study (60%).
The final paper will only be marked if the student has attended the seminars.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Retake
There will be a retake for the Advocacy Strategy.
Exam Review
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used.
Reading list
The compulsory literature for weekly readings will be made available during the course. The course will mainly use scientific articles, news articles and policy documents from the EU institutions.
Registration
Via uSis.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.