Back to the Future?

Does the EU have a Future? That's the title of the course I've started this year - my first since November last year. It's a condensed course, so it's going to finish in February and it consists of two four-hour sessions each week which are essentially a combination of lectures, seminars and question and answer sessions. It's also being taught by a visiting Professor from Harvard who isn't a lawyer. One of my previous lecturers here joins us in the class as a student himself. So, in short, it's quite unlike anything else I've done. And it's also rather good fun.

The sessions themselves are pretty intense, and the lecturer, John Gillingham, seems to have boundless levels of energy and a real passion for what he's teaching. If anything, it's too condensed as there clearly isn't enough time for him to say everything in as much detail as he'd like. It's really interesting to hear so many different views on the EU from all the people in the class from so many different countries. I don't think you really appreciate how much some countries benefit from the EU until you speak to someone from there. British Euro-scepticism is all very good, but it does risk missing the bigger picture. Having an interested and lively class, and a lecturer who's keen to get people involved in debate is great as well. It really opens you up to other viewpoints and considerations that otherwise I wouldn't have thought of. I actually think that this sort of thing is sadly missing from the Cambridge system. Naturally you can't have debates in lectures, and ones in supervisions are necessarily only between three or so people. There are about 35 people in this class with widely different backgrounds and opinions and it makes for a really lively atmosphere. Perhaps it works because it's not really law, it's more political science, but its stimulating and something I'm determined to make the most of while it lasts.

But it doesn't end there. After the class he asked if anyone wanted to take advantages of his 'office hours' in a nearby bar. Seven of us did so and spent the next two hours carrying on the conversion and discussing everything from bicycles to EU enlargement. He even paid for a round of drinks for us all!

At the end of the course I have to have produced a paper outlining what I believe should be in any future EU Constitution. I'll be quite interested myself to see what I come up with there! So, does the EU have a future? My best politician-style answer: Yes, I think (and generally hope) that it does, just not as the EU we know.