Human Rights Politics in the European Union

Course content

This course explains why the EU has developed a human rights policy with implications on its internal evolution and external relations. To understand this, the course explores policies and mechanisms adopted by the EU including the founding treaties, the council s declarations, the parliament s resolutions and the ECJ s rulings. The course also analyses the role the Union has played in the promotion and protection of human rights in the process of enlargement. Furthermore the human rights conditionality attached to trade and development aid with the third countries is examined in the context of the EU s global reach in influencing human rights policies.