Aim and Objectives
The project aims at analysing the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the European Economic Constitution, introducing a new program of studies which explores the interplay between market integration and the European Social Model. Duties, rights and remedies for undertakings in the legal framework of the new social market economy are thoroughly examined. Students will be provided with the fundamental knowledge on principles and rules affecting public powers and private parties, being them not only individuals but also undertakings, with specific reference to the order established by the Lisbon Treaty.
Guest speakers will analyse the rules and the instruments provided by the Lisbon Treaty for addressing the challenges which Europe is going to face in the 21st century, such as globalisation, climate change, the need for sustainable energy sources and new security threats. Attention will be focused on three strategic sectors: protection of the environment, energy policy and services of general interest. Moreover, the contribution of the Lisbon Treaty to a more social European Union will be examined. The recent developments in the specific fields of public health and civil protection will be deeply discussed.
The course is entirely taught in English. It will spread knowledge and awareness with regard to the reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The Module adopts an interdisciplinary perspective: it gathers Economics and Law, but also it involves guest speakers from different contexts e.g. from the European institutions, from firms or from organizations representative of the civil society in general, whose interaction gives students the chance to examine Law in action and to have a view on practical issues.
The teaching material (Reader) will include a great variety of documents from diverse sources (treaty provisions, excerpts from secondary EU law, ECJ judgments, policy papers, Commission Communications, Statistics, working papers, selected articles from scientific EU-related journals and reviews). For each session students will have to read in advance the specific assignments for the relevant topic, in order to follow proactively classes. In the long run, the aim of the course is to give to students the most mature insight with regard to the relationships between undertakings and institutional players in the European Union in the framework of the European social market economy, followed by the most recent institutional and jurisprudential developments.