European Integration: The EU from West to East

This course is a joint program on European integration of Utrecht University’s Summer School and the International Summer University of the University of Tartu. The program will be hosted in summer 2010 from 05 July to 30 July. The first two weeks will take place in the Netherlands, a founding member of what is now the European Union. The participants will learn of the European Union (EU), its history, institutional structures, current aims, and future challenges. The course will also analyse how the development of a single market facilitates European economy that now represents almost a third of the total economic output of the world.

After this introduction, participants will spend two weeks in Estonia, an EU-member since 2004. During this time, students will focus on the case of the Baltic states and Russia. Participants will get familiar with the region’s geopolitical situation, which provides necessary background for understanding contemporary foreign policy in the northeast of Europe. The course is based on broader issues such as Euro-Atlantic integration, regional co-operation, decolonization issues and Russian foreign policy. Participants will analyze topics such as EU and NATO enlargement, international cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, Baltic-Russian relations, and Russian relations with the Western countries.