Contents - General Outline

The course "European Law and Economics"

• = Wahlfach Kurs I - Europäisches Wirtschaftsrecht (Elective Course I - European Economic Law) and
• = Course I - European and International Economic Law (BBE), respectively

covers both legal and economic aspects of European integration. Therein it corresponds to the increasingly pluri- and interdisciplinary requirements of the present business world.

In particular, the course will deal with the following subjects:
- The European Union – “a snapshot”
- Key European Law Principles (main focus),
- The Institutional Framework of the EU (main focus),
- The Decision Making Process at the European Level (main focus),
- Introduction to the European Single Market,
- Introduction to the European Monetary Union (EMU).

While it is possible (and perfectly fine) to attend this course on its own, participants may also wish to attend the course (# 5336) “Advanced Issues of European Business Law“ [= Wahlfach Kurs II - Europäisches Wirtschaftsrecht (Elective Course II - European Economic Law) and Course II - European and International Economic Law (BBE), respectively]. Taken together, both courses form the elective subject “European Economic Law” (for students of the Bachelor Program in Business, Economics and Social Science) or the specialization “European and International Economic Law” (for students of the Bachelor Program in Business and Economics). Please note: It is possible to attend both courses in the same semester!

What is an elective subject?
Students of the Bachelor Program in Business, Economics and Social Science have to choose out of several "elective subjects" with "European Economic Law" being one of them.

What is a specialization?
Students of the Bachelor Program in Business and Economics (BBE) choose from a variety of specializations in phase 3 of the bachelor’s program. BBE students have to complete specializations totalling 40 ECTS credits. The specialization “European Economic Law” is worth 10 ECTS credits in total (i.e. in order to complete the specialization students must attend the courses “European Law and Economics” and “Advanced Issues of European Business Law”). For further information on how to choose and combine your specializations, please visit the university’s website on specializations.

General Remarks

A key element of the business environment is its legal framework. In this context, European law should be mentioned in particular. Substantial framework conditions and changes to the business environment, all of which result from European law, as well as the wide range of EU activities (a large majority of all legislative acts valid within the Member States of the European Union is of "EU origin") demonstrate that a profound knowledge of European law constitutes a vital pre-condition for successful entrepreneurship! Enlargements of the European Union have resulted in an even broader application of Union acts and have, therefore, further increased the importance of European law.

Learning Outcomes

Ability to

• solve problems relating to the EU in general and its decision-making process in particular which the student might encounter in his/her current or future professional life and
• discuss basic questions relating to the EU in general and its decision-making process in particular in a qualified manner based on factual arguments.

The aim of this course is to develop students’ understanding of the European Union in general and its decision-making process in particular.

It is assumed that in-person teaching at WU will be possible at the time the course takes place. If not, MS Teams sessions would be organized instead (and are therefore mentioned in brackets in the following text, please ignore if not applicable). The aforementioned MS Teams online sessions would be shorter, but would still take place the same day as the envisaged in-person meetings. The precise timing of the MS Teams online sessions would be communicated on a separate basis.

Participation in [the MS Teams online] sessions is mandatory.

Despite this general rule and with the exception of the first [MS Teams online] session, missing three hours in total is possible without any explanation. Further absences, however, only on an exceptional basis and for serious and stated reasons. A foreseeable absence (which would imply a total absence of more than three hours) must be discussed and agreed in advance. In any case, reasons for an absence (which would imply a total absence of more than three hours) must be announced as soon as possible. Participation in the first [MS Teams online] session is necessary. If you cannot participate in the first [online] meeting it is required to get in touch with K. Forgó asap.

- lecture,
- group work (inter alia on case studies),
- individual work (inter alia on case studies).

Assumption: in-person teaching at WU is possible

The grade is based on the overall performance during the entire course, taking into account active participation in class (including the preparation of several case studies/exercises) as well as the final written exam result.

The final grade is calculated as follows:

1. final written exam result: 70 %
2. a group work distributed at the seminar's first meeting, to be prepared at home and presented in class: 20 %
3. other active participation in class (ad hoc analysis of small cases/exercises, contributions to discussions etc.): 10 %. In case of exceptionally good active participation in class additional 10 % (i.e. in total 20 %) might be achieved (to compensate for deficiencies in the area of 1. and 2. (see above) where applicable).

In case you wish to see your corrected exam pls. contact katrin.forgo@gmx.net preferably within two weeks after the publication of the (provisional) final grade.

Grading scale:
100-85 % (points) .... Sehr gut/very good/1; 84-75 % (points) .... Gut/good/2; 74-61 % (points) .... Befriedigend/satisfactory/3; 60-50 % (points) .... Genügend/sufficient/4; <50 % (points) .... Nicht genügend/not sufficient/5

Required reading (to be done before session 2):
-> The following pages of the ABC of EU Law (introduction to EU law, available online):
p. 11-79
p. 89-92
p. 98-105
p. 111-115
p. 133-145

All slides and additional material relevant to the course will be made available to students in due time.

For students of the Bachelor Program in Business, Economics and Social Sciences, there is no formal knowledge-based admission requirement. However, attention is drawn to the fact that students from both inside and outside the EU usually attend this course and therefore EU-related background knowledge might differ considerably. Particularly students who have not been in touch with "European issues" so far are, therefore, strongly recommended to study carefully the relevant pages of the ABC of EU Law as specified above. Also, About the EU might prove useful.

For students of the Bachelor Program in Business and Economics, there are the following admission requirements: Students need to complete 42 ECTS credits of the core courses and 12 ECTS of the introductory courses, before being able to register for this specialization. This will most likely be the case at the end of semester 2 or in semester 3.

Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

Please see above.

Katrin.Forgo@gmx.net

!!PLEASE IGNORE IF NOT APPLICABLE!!

Assumption: in-person teaching at WU is NOT possible (-> online teaching)

To successfully complete this course students must have

1.) studied the required reading as specified below. 

2.) elaborated in groups and submitted to katrin.forgo@gmx.net the exercises
⦁    “Differentiated Integration”
⦁    “Prantl / Bocksbeutel Bottles”,
⦁    “Orsolina / Cow Slaugthering”
before session 3.

The decision on groups will be taken by the lecturer and communicated to students at the first MS Teams online meeting. The aforementioned three exercises will be made available to students in due time. Every group will have to work on all three exercises.

3.) submitted (on an individual basis) the completed questionnaire to katrin.forgo@gmx.net before session 5. The aforementioned questionnaire will cover the course content and will be made available to students in due time.

4.) participated in all MS Teams online sessions as specified.

Please note: The punctual submission of all four contributions - “Differentiated Integration” (group work), “Prantl / Bocksbeutel Bottles” (group work), “Orsolina / Cow Slaugthering” (group work), questionnaire (individual work) - is a MUST! Given that all exercises will be discussed in class (online) and solution outlines will be sent out soon after expiry of the deadline, any late submission cannot be taken into account (for the relevant deadlines please see above).

The grade is based on the overall performance during the entire course, taking into account active participation in class during the MS Teams online sessions.

The final grade is calculated as follows:

1. questionnaire: 45 %
2. group exercises “Differentiated Integration”, “Prantl / Bocksbeutel Bottles” and “Orsolina / Cow Slaugthering”: 45 %
3. active participation in class during the MS Teams online sessions: 10 %. In case of exceptionally good active participation in class additional 10 % (i.e. in total 20 %) might be achieved (to compensate for deficiencies in the area of 1. and 2. (see above) where applicable).

Grading scale: Same as „in-person teaching“.

Required reading (to be done before session 2):
Same as „in-person teaching“.