Seminar: The Process of Acceding to the EU (10-01-683)

15. Oktober 2025, von Internetredaktion

Description

The current shape of the EU in general, as well as of its various policies, legal procedures and institutional structures in particular, has been steadily formed by the successive accession of new Member States throughout the decades of its history. The process of joining the Union is regulated by a complex set of rules formed by the intricate interplay of hard law, soft law instruments, custom and practice. This field of EU law is further complicated by how politicised the accession to the Union often becomes and how joining the EU intertwines with the hopes, challenges and expectations of the people living in candidate countries. This seminar offers an opportunity to study the complicated process of acceding to the EU from the viewpoint of Union law.

The course opens with an overview of the current legal framework regulating the process of joining the EU, as well as of its legal evolution. The seminar guides the students through the relevant norms contained in the primary law of the Union, the various soft law instruments developed by different EU institutions, as well as the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice. The rest of the course is devoted to the past accessions to the Union and the situation of the current candidate countries. The seminar focuses on the specifics of regulation in this field of Union law, also demonstrating how the legal system of the Union has been changing in response to the accession of new Member States and analysing the modern developments from the legal standpoint and within the wider context of the modern-day constitutional edifice of the EU.

Structure & Language

The seminar is taught exclusively in English and consists of three sessions, all taking place during the winter semester of 2025/26: (1) Tuesday, 28 October 2025, 14:15-18:45, (2) Tuesday, 25 November 2025, 14:15-18:45, (3) Tuesday, 6 January 2026, 14:15-18:45.

Modes of Participation

Within this seminar, students can obtain a Seminarschein. For this, you have to participate in the seminar sessions, give one oral presentation in class, and write a seminar paper of standard length. The seminar does not offer an opportunity to get a Fremdsprachenschein. Erasmus and other exchange students are welcome to participate; they are not required to write a seminar paper but must take a final written exam instead.

Registration & Instructor

To register for this seminar, send a short email directly to the course instructor (see below) indicating your name, surname, matriculation number (seven digits) and the seminar number (10-01-683).

Instructor: Dr. iur. Serhii Lashyn, LL.M. – Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Law, Universität Hamburg. For registration and questions: serhii.lashyn"AT"uni-hamburg.de 

Poster (PDF)