POGESTEI TEMPUS Master of European Integration

The traditional study trip for students of the Master in European Integration programme, generation 2014/2015, was organized from July 6 to July 11, 2015. The agenda of the study trip was the most comprehensive so far. Students were given the opportunity to visit numerous institutions of importance for EU law and the European integration, situated in four different countries.

Such an outstanding reach of the study trip would not have been possible without generous donation provided by IRZ (German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation). IRZ supported the study trip with an amount of 5.000 EUR. The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law once again expresses its gratitude to IRZ for supporting the study trip with such a generous contribution and for thus enabling our master students to deepen their knowledge and widen their experiences by visiting the most significant EU institutions.

A The students toured the city of Strasbourg and visited the Council of Europe and European Parliament on Monday, July 6, 2015. During the afternoon, students visited the Debating Chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and afterwards attended the lecture “The role of the Council of Europe in the European political landscape”. They also visited the Plenary Chamber of the European Parliament.

On Tuesday, July 7, students and their professors visited the European Court of Human Rights, where they met Branko Lubarda, the judge elected in respect of the Republic of Serbia, and Aysegül Uzun Marinković, a lawyer at the Court’s Registry.

On Wednesday, July 8, students once again visited the European Court of Human Rights, this time to attend the Grand Chamber hearing in the cases of Karacsony and Others v. Hungary (applications nos. 42461/13 and 44357/13). The cases concern complaints by members of the Hungarian Parliament, belonging to two opposition parties, for having been fined for alleged grave offenses to the parliamentary order, which they alleged had been nothing more than their protests against two legislative proposals by the Government.

After taking a shuttle to Karlsruhe in the afternoon, students enjoyed a guided tour of the German Federal Constitutional Court. Their hosts were Mr. Christopher Hunt and Ms. Nina Prötzel, research assistants at the Court. After the tour, students attended the lecture on the European integration processes in the case-law of the German Constitutional Court and actively took part in the discussion that followed the lecture.

After taking a train to Luxembourg, students were given the opportunity to visit the European Court of Justice on July 9. Their visit started with a briefing of case C-286/14 Parliament v. Commission, by Ms. Lajunen, a legal secretary at the chambers of Advocate General Jaaskinen. After the hearing in this case, students also benefitted from the meeting with three judges at the Court of Justice of the European Union, Mr. Marko Ilešič, President of Chamber, Judge at the CJEU, Ms. Vesna Tomljenović, Judge at the General Court and Mr. Siniša Rodin, President of Chamber, Judge at the CJEU. The distinguished judges presented their working experiences in the Court, and initiated a discussion with the MEI students. The visit to the Court was completed by a lunch provided by the Court in the presence of Mr. Ilešič, as well as by a guided tour of the Court’s buildings.

The following day, Friday, July 10, students spent in Brussels. In the morning they visited the European Commission and attended three lectures. Ms. Katarina Sipic, a member of the team of speakers for the Directorate General for Communication, gave a lecture entitled “Role and functioning of the European Commission in the EU”, whereas Mr. Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas, Desk Officer for Syria, the European External Actions Service, held an interesting lecture on “The EU Regional Response to the Syria Crisis”. The third lecture organized for our students during their visit to the European Commission had a topic “Economic Challenges for the Countries in the Western Balkans" and was held by Mr. Peter Polajnar, Policy Officer, Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, whereas Ms. Ana Daskalova was present for the Q&A session. During the afternoon, students and their professors visited the Serbian Delegation in the EU in Brussels and met with H.E. the Ambassador Mr. Duško Lopandić.

Fifteen students of the Master in European Integration programme were accompanied by two professors of our Faculty – Prof. Dr. Tanasije Marinković and Doc. Dr. Maja Lukić.

Dowload brochure