Professor Andrea Lenschow’s course The Institutional Framework of the EU provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles, structures, and dynamics that underpin the legal framework of the European Union. As the EU impacts various aspects of national and international law, it made me realize how important a solid grasp of its institutional and political foundations is - not only for legal practitioners but also for every individual working or wanting to work within the European context.

Designed as an intensive two-week program, the course ensured to strengthen our foundation in the framework of European Institutions. It was great to have a combination of lectures and group discussions in which we explored the roles, functions, and interactions of the key EU institutions in a totally different way than in a regular university class. Besides the questions: "which political groups can be found in the European Parliament? How is the European Commission structured? And who are Roberta Metsola or Charles Michel?", we for example also reflected on the pros and cons of lobbying effecting the EU decision making process and discussed about the question, whether the nomination of a "Spitzenkandidat"as the president of the Commission brings us a step nearer to or further away from the democracy of the EU.

The presentations about the EU in times of crisis made us all think about the challenges of the EU especially the current ones regarding environment and migration. In a role play we even had the possibility to simulate negotiating an EU directive, establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the community, which not only provided us with more insights about the decision-making process of the EU, but also showed us, how important it is, to understand the politics behind the legal aspects.

The course offered me a unique opportunity to explore the history, politics and institutions of the European Union and empowered me to engage confidently with the challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving European political landscape. I think I can speak for the whole class that we enjoyed the two weeks very much – I am very thankful for getting to learn from professor Lenschow!