The European Union Policies

European Union Policies

The European Union Policies is the minor of IBMS, provided by Avans School of International Studies in year 3. I chose this minor for two reasons: (1) the minor was compulsory for those who wanted to go to U.S. on study exchange and (2) I wanted to get to know more on the European Union.

The minor was coordinated by Mr. J. Frencken. It was well structured and organized. In addition, Mr. Frencken also organized a trip to Brussels. During our trip, we visited several European Union bodies including the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Below is my review on the minor of European Union policies. I will first provide the pros and then the cons of the minor.

Pros: I must say that this minor was one of the better courses I had on ASIS during my IBMS study in Breda. It was very good organized and structured and the content was interesting to learn. Everything was published on Blackboard on time. You knew what was expected from you. After I finished the minor, I knew a lot more about the European Union and its several organizations. In addition, we had to prepare a presentation and write an essay on a EU relevant topic.

Cons: One of the weaker points of the minor I find is the lack of sufficient contact hours we had. We were supposed to do a lot of self study. We did not have too many contact hours, i.e., lectures, trainings etc. with Mr. Frencken. In addition, the law courses we had from Mr. van Manen were I believe also insufficient. Moreover, we hardly used the expensive EU Law book that we purchased.

All in all, The European Union Policies minor is well organized and interesting minor to study. You will get a lot to learn on European Union. As the several organizations affect our lives daily, one must also know how and where legislations is approved.