EU Fiscal and Social Policies

Enseignants

Evrard Zoé; Lapeyre de Cabanes Antoine;

Langue
d'enseignement

Anglais

Thèmes abordés

This course focuses on the historical development, institutional functioning, and contemporary challenges of the EU’s fiscal and social policies, including in their budgetary dimension. Taking European Political Economy as perspective, students will explore how EU-level economic and fiscal governance constraint national social and budgetary choices, but also how the EU’s own budget is constituted, spent, and contested in a political context marked by successive crises. The course combines an examination of the technical aspects of the EU's governance and direct spending with an analysis of the broader political and distributive implications of these choices, including in terms of democratic legitimacy and rising inequalities.

Acquis
d'apprentissage

A la fin de cette unité d’enseignement, l’étudiant est capable de :

By the end of this course, students will: Have a good understanding of the instruments, resources, and challenges of the EU’s fiscal and social policies. Be able to engage critically in debates about the EU’s budgetary instruments and the policies they finance, as well as on the impact of EU economic and fiscal governance on member states. Strengthen transversal skills including critical thinking, public speaking, discussion, and academic writing.

Contenu

The course guides students through established policies of the European Union (EU), such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or the social and territorial cohesion policy carried out through the EU Structural and Investment Funds.
Recent developments are also addressed, including the emergence of a new ‘European investor state’, the latest reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), and the debates surrounding the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). A transversal question connects these topics: is the EU moving beyond its regulatory role towards renewed economic activism and, if so, which political goal(s) is it pursuing?

Méthodes d'enseignement

The course combines lectures with active learning, using preparatory tasks and mandatory readings as the basis for in-class activities.

Modes d'évaluation
des acquis des étudiants

The final grade is based on three components: participation (15%), a role-play assignment consisting of an essay and its presentation during an in-class debate (50%), and a final exam (35%). All assignments must be submitted in English.
In the event of a resit (August session), participation grades are carried over. Students who did not pass the course and scored below 70% in either the role-play assignment or the final exam must retake that component. Grades of 70% or higher are retained and cannot be repeated. For the role-play assignment, only the essay needs to be redone (not the presentation).
All use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in this class is forbidden, with the exception of language editing (spelling and grammatical correction), although this use must be systematically indicated and referenced precisely throughout the text. Any other generative use of AI for developing, producing and writing the work assignments of this course is strictly prohibited. In case of suspicion of such generative use, teachers may ask questions to students to ensure that they are the primary author of their documents. All work is a personal production and plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) is forbidden. Failure to comply with all these rules will constitute an irregularity, which will be reported to the Master's jury and may result in academic and/or disciplinary sanction.

Faculté ou entité
en charge

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