Since its inception the European Union (EU) has been a contested and politically divisive project. In recent years, controversial issues such as the EU enlargement, the constitutional crisis, declining public support for European integration and the latest Eurozone crisis have tested the EU to its limits and increasingly divided both political elites and mass publics. Starting with a solid overview of the European integration process in successive stages, this course will analyse the key issues and debates related to the political system of the EU and to the politics of European integration. While most mainstream courses on the EU describe the history, the institutions, policy areas and theorizing about European integration, this course aims at familiarising the students with the key controversies that have shaped and are now openly shaping the EU polity and politics. The emphasis placed on the political dimension of European integration makes the course transdisciplinary in character and opens it up to communication with other programs (European Studies and Political Science and Public Administration). However, a basic knowledge of and familiarity with the process of European integration and EU institutional system is required.