EU Law and Inequality
Full course description
Inequality within and between countries has become a prominent concern in the aftermath of European integration. This course explores how the EU legal system deals with inequality, and how this has evolved over time. To this end, and after a methodological introduction, the course delves into specific areas of activity of the EU (non-discrimination, state aid, cohesion policy, common agricultural policy, and COVID-19 recovery instruments) to explain the EU legal instruments that affect the distribution of benefits and burdens between individuals and between countries.
Through this learning journey, you will learn how the EU is more than simply an internal market in which people, goods and capital move around: it is also a system that shapes peoples’ opportunities to live a good life through policies and legislation that redistribute money between territories, and that set rules on how individuals should be treated in such a system.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, you will:
- Gain a deep understanding of EU policies that affect the distribution of wealth and opportunities between different collectives;
- Learn how to solve legal challenges that emerge in the development and implementation of such policies;
- Learn how to read relevant legal and academic materials and conduct independent research in relation to EU law and one or several dimensions of inequality.
Prerequisites
None
Recommended prior knowledge
- EU Institutional Law
- EU Substantive Law
Recommended reading
- The reading materials will consist of primary sources (legislation, case law, institutional documents) and secondary sources (excerpts of textbooks, selected scholarship in academic journals or books).
- The readings will be specified in the syllabus.