The Economics of European Integration

Description

This course provides economic analysis on the process and policies of European integration, the synergy of economic integration and social harmonization in Europe, EU’s economic relations with external entities such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, China and the United States, and EU’s concept on the WTO reform.
Since the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the European Union (EU) has grown from a small customs union with six member states to the largest and most successfully integrated economic entity in the world, with 27 members, more than 500 million citizens and a combined gross domestic product close to that of the United States. By deepening, integration and harmonization has gradually upgraded from first pillar (community) towards second (Common Foreign and Security Policy) and third pillar (Judicial and Internal Affairs Cooperation).  European economic integration concentrating in the community pillar is the most fruitful field of the European integration, from European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) to the European Economic Community (EEC), Custom Union, Single Market and to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), while implementing series of common policies such as Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Common Competition Policy, trade policy as well as reginal policy etc. At the same time it has been facing significant challenges like globalisation and again, the sovereign debt crisis and the recent Brexit influencing the EU greatly both in economy and in politics.

In addition to that, this course highlights the topical issues of the European Union, including Brexit, trade between the EU and the NZ, and the EU’s concept on the WTO reform by addressing at its root and giving detailed analysis from the economic perspective. To be specific, this course analyses Brexit Trade Talks and the possible types of post-Brexit UK-EU economic relations with the focus on important concepts such as passporting rights and regulatory equivalence. It also offers analysis on the short-term and long-term effects of Brexit on the economy of UK and the EU respectively and looks into the future changes. It discusses the economic relation between the EU and the NZ with the focus on the main bargaining issues in FTA negotiation and the possible economic impact. Furthermore, it examines main challenges currently facing the WTO and the EU views and proposals of the WTO reform. The economic relation between China and EU during the Trump period are also discussed in depth, together with the BIT (CAI) negotiations.

This course provides an economic analysis of the process and policies, which have driven Europe's economic and political integration, and explores the implications of integration. It also addresses new EU topics, including QE, Multi-speed Europe.