Extra Cathedra – The Competence Question in the European Union
The European Legal Studies Department of the College of Europe has launched Extra Cathedra, a new podcast series hosted by Academic Assistants Louise ROUSSEAU and Jorge IRIZAR. The series explores the research, ideas and professional work of College of Europe professors beyond the classroom, bringing key debates in European Union law into a broader conversation.
In the first episode, College of Europe Professor Sacha GARBEN joins Louise and Jorge to discuss her book The Competence Question in the (Con)Federal European Union (Oxford University Press, 2025).
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE
About the Episode
A federal constitution could have resolved the European Union’s “competence conundrum” at its root (Garben, 2025). Yet federalism remains something of a taboo. Despite this silence, the debate over the EU’s federal character and the extent of its competences has been at the heart of European constitutional law since the beginning of European integration, and it is as relevant as ever.
In this episode of Extra Cathedra, we welcome Professor Sacha Garben to discuss her book The Competence Question in the (Con)Federal European Union (OUP, 2025). We talk about the choice between a federal and a confederal Union, and of a genuine constitution which could be adopted by Europe’s citizens. We also look at how Brexit, against all expectations, brought about a constitutional turning point, and how two decades of crises, up to the recent SAFE defence instrument, have tested the limits of the Treaties.