In recent years, the failure of the constitutional process, the difficult ratification and implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as the several crises affecting Europe have revitalized the debate on the nature of the European polity and the balance of powers in Brussels. This book explains the redistribution of power in the post-Lisbon EU with a focus on the European Council. Reform of institutions and the creation of new political functions at the top of the European Union have raised fresh questions about leadership and accountability. This book argues that the European Union exhibits a political order with hierarchies, mechanisms of domination and legitimating narratives. As such, it can be understood by analysing what happens at its summit. Taking the European Council as the nexus of European political governance, contributors consider council and rotating presidencies' co-operation, rivalry and opposition. The book combines approaches through events, processes and political structures, issues and the biographical trajectories of actors and explores how the founding compromise of European integration between sovereignty and supranationality is affected by the evolving nature of this new European political model which aims to combine cooperation and integration. The European Council and European Governance will be of strong interest to students and scholars of European studies, political science, political sociology, public policy and international relations.

Secessionist (also called, nationalist, or pro-independence) political parties exist in many countries in the developed world; they raise-and then spend-a lot of money, win votes in elections, and their elected officials serve in seats in local, regional, and national parliaments. Yet, despite all of this effort, there has not been a successful case of secession since 1921 when the Irish Free State effectively seceded from the United Kingdom (UK). Perhaps the biggest issue is that these secessionist political parties have rarely been popular enough to form a government even amongst their core ethnic group. This is further compounded by the fact that secessionist parties have historically been unable to win support from immigrants or people outside their core ethnic and/or linguistic group. Given this context, four central questions are posed in this study including: whether-and also why-any of the secessionist parties have transitioned from ethnic-based to civic-based policy platforms? Why have these secessionist parties not yet achieved independence? And, what role does the European Union (EU) play in facilitating or deterring secession in independence-seeking regions within member states? This study examines three different cases-Flanders in Belgium, Scotland in the UK, and Catalonia in Spain-to investigate how secessionist political parties are approaching the issue of independence. All of the cases are different with respect to history, governmental structure, and economic situation. Yet all of the cases are similar in some ways-they are close to the same size (in terms of population), operate within mature democratic political systems, have distinct secessionist political parties, and all reside within member states of the EU. Categorically, in all cases, there are also shared influences of the ability of the region to secede: institutions, interests, and ideas.

The current European Union (EU) has existed since 1 November 1993. It emerged from the Treaty of Maastricht largely negotiated during 1991. But the history of European integration goes further back. The Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951, and in 1957 the two Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or EURATOM), which started operating from 1 January 1958. For some years the EEC was often referred to as the Common Market. The Merger Treaty of 1965 (in force since 1967) created a single executive, the European Commission, and a single Council of Ministers. The three Communities from the beginning in 1958 shared the Parliamentary Assembly and European Court of Justice (ECJ). Although these Communities still had separate treaties, they were increasingly seen as the European Community (EC). This new edition of Historical Dictionary of the European Union has a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, member states, internal policies, external relations, basic theories, treaties, and law. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the European Union.

In the second half of the twentieth century France played the greatest role - even greater than Germany's - in shaping what eventually became the European Union. By the early twenty-first century, however, in a hugely transformed Europe, this era had patently come to an end. This comprehensive history shows how France coupled the pursuit of power and the furtherance of European integration over a sixty-year period, from the close of the Second World War to the hesitation caused by the French electorate's referendum rejection of the European Union's constitutional treaty in 2005. Michael Sutton is Director of Studies in Politics and International Relations at Aston University. He has written regularly on France for The Economist Intelligence Unit - part of The Economist newspaper group - since 1985, and worked in Brussels from 1973 to 1993 monitoring European Community developments. He is also a specialist in twentieth-century French political thought and philosophy.

EU security governance assesses the effectiveness of the EU as a security actor. The book has two distinct features. Firstly, it is the first systematic study of the different economic, political and military instruments employed by the EU in the performance of four different security functions. The book demonstrates that the EU has emerged as an important security actor, not only in the non-traditional areas of security, but increasingly as an entity with force projection capabilities. Secondly, the book represents an important step towards redressing conceptual gaps in the study of security governance, particularly as it pertains to the European Union. The book links the challenges of governing Europe's security to the changing nature of the state, the evolutionary expansion of the security agenda, and the growing obsolescence of the traditional forms and concepts of security cooperation. -- .

This book analyses how domestic and European structures impact on national actors' identities, interests and foreign policy practices. Employing Norway as the case study area, the author uses this nation as an example to assess Europeanization and identity politics across the European Union (EU). Utilising an original and innovative approach called 'social constructivist fusion perspective', the author addresses Europeanization across several key factors. The author assesses the influence of the EU on 'half-way member countries', and the impact of identity politics and domestic structures, which factors contribute to or hinder Europeanization, and attempts to empirically measure Europeanization at the actor level. It analyses the impact of domestic and European structures on the identities, interests, attitudes and foreign policy practices of the Norwegian policy-makers. Whilst contributing to knowledge and literature on how constructivist approaches can be utilized in empirical studies of political elites, this book goes beyond theory to demonstrate that Europeanization is not only institutional, and provides evidence of the influence of identity politics. Europeanization, Integration and Identity will be or interest to students, scholars and policy-makers in the field of European Union politics, international relations, social constructivism and Scandinavian politics.

In this engaging, clever, and provocative account, Attila Marjan offers a disquieting analysis of the complex challenges Europe faces in the global marketplace.

Marjan, an expert at the center of the European project, surveys global trends, common pressures, and the organizational difficulties of the European Union (EU). In his view, Europe is failing to meet growing and changing global economic competition and will continue to lag behind other world powers because of population trends, energy insecurity, and the institutional disorder of the EU. Marjan finds that in order to compete in the global market, Europe will have to adopt much more flexible economic and social models.

The accession of Croatia to the EU marked the end of a long and arduous period of transition. Croatia had to meet significantly higher criteria than previous states with suspicion and concerns among existing members about further enlargement increasing. Meanwhile initially strong public support in Croatia declined as inconsistencies in EU policy, entry criteria and problems caused by the economic crisis all combined with fears about the loss of national identity and the ability to realize national interests. The successful Croatian accession to the EU in 2013 shows that, despite concerns on both sides, the EU continues to have meaning and significance and that membership remains highly desirable. Through nine mutually interrelated chapters the contributors speak not only about the political and social situation in Croatia, but also prospects for the European Union itself.

This book examines the involvement of Portugal in the European integration process since the country signed the Accession Treaty in 1985. The volume elicits how Portugal has grasped opportunities and challenges emanating from its participation in the institutional, regulatory and political frameworks of the European Union (EU), as these have become more intricate as well as intrusive. It scrutinizes the adjustments and transformations that have taken place in Portuguese society, politics and economics as well as in the country's international relations, as engendered by its increasing enmeshment in the Community-building dynamics. It is divided into three main parts: * Part I focuses on the major changes within the domestic arena, notably on the political, economic and social fronts; * Part II addresses the adjustments that the Portuguese leadership had to make in order to secure the country's participation in key common policies and strategies; * Part III is centred on foreign policy and assesses and discusses the impact upon Portugal's international relations. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, EU studies, comparative politics and those with a strong interest in Portugal.

The book gathers a group of scholars interested in both public international law and EU law to cover different facets of the relationship between the European Union and customary international law. Considering the distinct perspectives taken by international law and EU law, while also looking into the space in between the two, individual chapters tackle complex questions such as whether and on what bases the European Union is bound by customary international law as a matter of international law and EU law; how the European Union contributes to the development of international custom; and how different stakeholders - the Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU's political organs and EU citizens - rely upon customary rules. The book thus offers a systematic account of the relevance of customary international law for the external relations and internal functioning of what is no doubt the most remarkable regional international organization of our time.

Few events over the past few decades have given rise to an amount of debate and speculation concerning the state of the European Union (EU) and the future of European integration as the economic and financial crisis that began in 2007. In spite of substantial media, policy-making and academic attention, the fundamental questions of why and how the euro area (EA) has remained not only intact but also expanded and integrated further during the crisis require deeper theoretical investigation. One needs to understand not only the economics but also the politics and institutions of the crisis. A lack of such an understanding is the reason why a number of observers, at least initially, had a hard time making sense of policy-makers' decisions (and pace thereof), including why the EA did not implode as some predicted. Economic theories provide a certain perspective for why the crisis occurred and what economic policies were and are needed to resolve it; however, they fail to capture the deeper roots and management of the crisis. In order to improve our understanding of a discussion that has oscillated between fears of EA disintegration on the one hand and the concrete advancement of integration during the crisis on the other, this special collection brings together leading scholars of European integration who apply key theoretical approaches - from liberal intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism to other prominent theoretical accounts that have been applied to European integration such as historical institutionalism, critical political economy, normative theory, and a public opinion approach - to the economic and financial crisis. The contributions seek to analyse, understand and/or explain the events that occurred and the (re)actions to them in order to draw conclusions concerning the applicability and usefulness of their respective theoretical perspectives. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

The Academy of European Law was established by the European University Institute in 1990 and extends the Institute's current programmes into a larger field of interest. It has as its main activity the holding of annual summer courses in the law of the European Community and the protection of human rights in Europe. In addition to general courses, shorter courses are held on subjects of special academic and practical interest in both fields. Finally, special guest lectures on topical issues are given by policy-makers, judges and persons who have held or currently hold the highest position in these fields. The courses are published in the language in which they were delivered (English and French).

The role of national parliaments in EU matters has become an important subject in the debate over the democratic legitimacy of European Union decision-making. Strengthening parliamentary scrutiny and participation rights at both the domestic and the European level is often seen as an effective measure to address the perceived 'democratic deficit' of the EU - the reason for affording them a prominent place in the newly introduced 'Provisions on Democratic Principles' of the Union (in particular Article 12 TEU). Whether this aim can be met, however, depends crucially on the degree to which, and the manner in which, national parliaments actually make use of their institutional rights. This volume therefore aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the activities of national parliaments in the post-Lisbon Treaty era. This includes the 'classic' scrutiny of EU legislation, but also parliamentary involvement in EU foreign policy, the use of new parliamentary participation rights of the Lisbon Treaty (Early Warning System), their role regarding the EU's response to the Eurozone crisis, and the, so far under-researched, role of parliamentary administrators in scrutiny processes. This book was originally published as a special issue of West European Politics.

The options and powers, which exist at Community level, for taking action in the sphere of "culture" - defined as education, science and culture in its narrower sense - are analyzed in this work. The book also covers the question of the EC's cultural jurisdiction, while particular attention has been paid to the question of the EC's power in the field of broadcasting. In order to consider the changes brought about by the Maastricht Treaty, the author has added a section on the Treaty of European Union.

This provocative and thoughtful book critically examines the major issues facing Europe today and makes policy proposals for the future.The Future of Europe focuses on the main policy areas where European leaders must take decisions over the coming years. The issues discussed include the EC's policies for enlargement, greater depth, economic and monetary integration, foreign affairs, defence and citizenship rights. The author, Peter Coffey, offers a considered assessment of the move towards European integration, praising the achievements but also expressing concern about the lack of democratic control in the EC and its inability to co-ordinate its economic, monetary and foreign policies. European union, he argues, must be a selective coming together 'a Europe a la carte' if the rights of the individual are to be reconciled with the necessity of creating a common front in selected critically important areas. Written in an accessible and informative style, this key policy book introduces students, teachers and others to the central economic, social and political issues facing present-day Europe.

The book draws on some of the scholarship in perception studies and "Normative Power Europe" theory. The study of perceptions, although dating back to the mid-1970s, is gaining renewed currency in recent years both in international relations, in general, and in European Union studies, in particular. And yet, despite the significance of external perceptions of the European Union, there is still a lack of theoretical forays into this area as well as an absence of empirical investigations of actual external role conceptions. These lacunae in scholarly work are significant, since how the European Union is perceived outside its borders, and what factors shape these perceptions, are crucial for deepening the theory of "Normative Power Europe." The book analyzes Israeli perceptions towards "Normative Power Europe," the European Union, and NATO through five themes that, the book argues, underscore different dimensions of key Israeli conceptions of "Normative Power Europe" and NATO. The book seeks to contribute to the existing research on the European Union's role as a "normative power," the Union's external representations, and on Israeli-European Union relations more broadly.

This book examines the political, economic and social issues that are at the heart of the debate on the future of the European Union. Various experts address the questions of the role of the European Parliament and democratic control; the reform of the public sector; citizenship; crime and criminal justice; common foreign and security policy; East West trade; the communications revolution; regional inequalities; unemployment; demographic change and health policy. Recommendations are made for the consideration of the current IGC.

The continuous expansion of the European Union has transformed its very own self-conception. While Eastern enlargement was widely celebrated as the 'reuniting of Europe', the sheer number of applicants, their low economic development and the need for new states to transform in accordance with EU values required considerable adjustments to the EU's self-image. By examining the European Council's contentious approval of the Mediterranean and Central and Eastern European countries in the 1970s and 1990s, this book investigates why the European Union enlarges. Based on new and hitherto not analysed data, it introduces the concept of 'anomie' to the discourse and, in doing so, makes a timely contribution to the literature of constitutional politics and enlargement of the European Union. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of the European Union, area studies (European studies, central and east European studies, Mediterranean studies) and more broadly comparative politics and constitutional politics.

The dramatic results of the 2014 European Parliament elections have highlighted the European Union's urgent need for a review of the scope and purpose of its social objectives and for a reordering of European priorities. This book advocates a radical and original alternative to the current philosophy that determines the set of rules for the awarding of EU public procurement contracts. It calls for a reordering of the EU's economic and social priorities. In doing so, it advocates for a social dimension to be placed at the core of public procurement, which could elicit a social model of integration in the EU in which the European citizen is the key actor. This is achieved through an analytical approach as well as concise and contextualised explanations relating to free trade theories, poverty and public interest theories. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars of the European Union, political theory, and EU law.

This book examines lobbying in EU foreign policy-making and the activities of non-state actors (NSAs), focusing on EU foreign policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It sheds light on the interactions between the EU and NSAs as well as the ways in which NSAs attempt to shape EU foreign policies. By analysing issues that have not yet received systematic attention in the literature, this book offers new insights into lobbying in EU foreign policy, EU relations surrounding the conflict and the EU's broader role in the peace process. The book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political science, international relations, EU politics, EU foreign policy-making, Middle East studies and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The European Union's stalled expansion, the Euro deficit and emerging crises of economic and political sovereignty in Greece, Italy and Spain have significantly altered the image of the EU as a model of progressive civilization. However, despite recent events the EU maintains its international image as the paragon of European politics and global governance. This book unites leading scholars on Europe and Empire to revisit the view of the European Union as an 'imperial' power. It offers a re-appraisal of the EU as empire in response to geopolitical and economic developments since 2007 and asks if the policies, practices, and priorities of the Union exhibit characteristics of a modern empire. This text will be of key interest to students and scholars of the EU, European studies, history, sociology, international relations, and economics.

This book explores the drivers of the EU's recent forays into peace- and state-building operations. Since the Union's European (now Common) Security and Defence Policy (ESDP/CSDP) became operational in 2003, the EU has conducted more than 20 civilian and military operations that broadly served to either deter aggression in host countries, and/or to build or strengthen the rule of law. This sudden burst of EU activity in the realm of external security is interesting from both a scholarly and a policy perspective. On one hand, institutionalised cooperation in the field of foreign, security and defence policy challenges the mainstream in IR theory which holds that in such sovereignty-sensitive areas cooperation would necessarily be limited. On the other hand, the sheer quantity of operations suggests that the ESDP may represent a potentially significant feature of global governance. In order to understand the drivers behind CSDP, EU Foreign Policy and Crisis Management Operations analyses the policy output in this area, including the operations conducted in the CSDP framework. Up until now, many studies inferred the logic behind CSDP from express intentions, institutional developments and (the potential of) pooled capabilities. By mining the rich data that CSDP operations represent in terms of the motives and ambitions of EU governments for the CSDP, this book advances our understanding of the framework at large. This book will be of much interest to students of European Security, EU policy, peacebuilding, statebuilding, and IR.

An Inside View of the CAP Reform Process is about EU decision-making, in particular for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). From its formation in the 1960s through to 1992 the CAP was almost immune to change; but from 1992 a series of major reforms took place. Many authors have asked why and how this change came about, including academics writing from political economy and political science traditions, and EU officials themselves. With the benefit of Arlindo Cunha's intimate insider's knowledge, this book delves into the mysteries of the policy making process by assessing the MacSharry, Agenda 2000, and Fischler reforms, explaining how, and why, CAP reform became part of the political agenda, and the decisions that were taken. It focuses in particular on the role of the Commission and the Commissioner for Agriculture, the Council of Ministers and its Presidency, and the European Parliament. Drawing upon the economics and political science literatures as appropriate, the book adopts a heuristic political economy approach.
The MacSharry reform was much influenced by the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, and the 2003 Fischler reform by the Doha Round of WTO negotiations. A Delphi survey of key decision-makers, assessing their perception of the drivers of policy reform, and an analysis of subsequent CAP reform, including the Health Check in 2008 and preparations for the post-2013 CAP review, round-off the discussion. The former EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Franz Fischler, contributes a Foreword.

The European Union's (EU) powerful legal framework drives the process of European integration. The Court of Justice (ECJ) has established a uniquely effective supranational legal order, beyond the original wording of the Treaty of Rome and transforming our traditional understanding of international law. This work investigates how these fundamental transformations in the European legal system were received in one of the most important member states, Germany. On the one hand, Germany has been highly supportive of political and economic integration; yet on the other, a fundamental pillar of the post-war German identity was the integrity of its constitutional order. How did a state whose constitution was so essential to its self-understanding subscribe to the constitutional practice of EU law, which challenged precisely this aspect of its identity? How did a country who could not say no to Europe become the member state most reluctant to accept the new power of the ECJ?"

In a moment where the EU is facing an important number of challenges, there is growing interest in understanding how parties influence the way Europe evolves as a political issue, notably how parties structure domestic competition over European issues and they mobilise sentiments in referenda over European integration . This book examines the views of national parties towards the European Union and the different facets of a supranational citizenship. It provides an in-depth investigation into the variations to the cross-national patterns in ten countries, including old and new member states and different EU regions. Using original and innovative concepts, data and research techniques the authors: Explore whether parties formulate specific positions and preferences on the most particular aspects of the EU process. Investigate whether the party's stance could be inserted into more pro-European, or more Eurosceptical attitudes. Illustrate patterns of party contestation of the EU issues in the member states and explains these patterns in the light of the main theoretical arguments. Making an important contribution to party attitudes towards the EU and the Europeanisation of party politics, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, sociology, comparative politics, government and party politics