Before the latest EU enlargement, substantial changes in the integration process were predicted as a result of the accession of 10 new Member States, with some forecasting cataclysmic consequences. This book, one of the first ex post assessments of EU enlargement, provides evidence to the contrary, while also providing examples in which the new Members have been able to influence EU policy output with their liberal attitudes on economic and social policy. This book will be of great interest to EU policymakers, including officials of European institutions whose primary concerns are 'policy adjustment' and EU external relations. It will also be of interest to academics and students specialising in EU affairs, especially European integration, organisation, governance and public policy.

Decisive rejection by French and Dutch voters in 2005 forced the EU to abandon the Constitutional Treaty agreed the previous year. Yet by the end of the 2007, contrary to all expectations and after an intergovernmental conference essentially devoid of substantive negotiation, EU leaders had agreed and signed the Treaty of Lisbon containing the bulk of the Constitutional Treaty's substantive reforms. How did this latest treaty come about? Why did events move so quickly in 2007? Who were the key actors and what methods did they use to enable a treaty to be drawn up and agreed in such a short period of time? This book explores the unique process that saw EU leaders hastily agree a lengthy and detailed mandate for the intergovernmental conference. In doings so, it highlights the pivotal roles played by the German Council Presidency and key institutional actors in paving the way for and securing agreement among EU leaders on the new treaty.

European Union in the Global Context explores the interplay between the state and state sovereignty, nationalism, European integration and globalisation. It provides essential foundations in these areas, while using stimulating arguments to prompt discussion and provoke interest in the relationships between these processes. It critically analyses the challenges faced by the EU from the contemporary political and economic dynamics of globalisation (IPE), including trading relationships set through the WTO and bilateral relations with emerging markets, especially the BRIC economies. Likewise, pressures from within, such as a resurgence of nationalism, localisation, anti-austerity politics, and Euroscepticism are examined. While the Union is fundamentally challenged by pressures from above and below, and by its own internal dysfunction, it remains central to the effective management of the international political economy. European Union in the Global Context is a lively, focussed and engaging text, incorporating anecdotes and contemporary arguments, and presenting different perspectives on European integration and globalisation. It will be of key interest to European Politics, European Studies, European Union Studies and more broadly to global political economy, foreign and security policy and international relations.

A collection of essays based on an international conference in 1989. The essays examine both the historical dimension of the European idea and the problems of national and transnational identity confronting European integration in the 1990s. Chapters discuss post-modern Europe, Europe and Japan, the European identity, political parties, contemporary feminist movements, socialism, Austrian identity and an essay on Mitterand.

This book considers the principal challenges facing the European Union, which has been buffeted by a series of profound crises, both internal and external. These range from the future of Ukraine, the Union's reactions to China's 'One Belt, One Road' initiative, how to help stabilize countries to its south, and relations with the United States. The core argument is that the EU lacks a meta-narrative that could indicate priorities and linkages between the various continental, regional, national and thematic strategies. As a result, the EU often appears to be a confusing and even contradictory actor to many international partners. In response to these challenges the EU needs to develop a deeper sense of strategic awareness and confidence so that it may give a more convincing response to fundamental questions about the Union's role, purpose and identity in a changing world.

Based on interviews with some of the EU's most important leaders, this bookis designed to probe and elucidate what they think. The goal of the book is to find out whether they believe that the current period in the history of the European Union constitutes a 'crisis, ' and if so, what kind of crisis is it?

Mutual Recognition (MR) implies that each Member State is free to use the standards for production it prefers but cannot inhibit the import from other Member States lawfully using other standards, unless justified by emergency reasons. The home country rule then prevails on the host country. Barriers to entry diminish, competition rises in the internal market. This collection looks at a number of aspects of MR, including why its importance cannot be understood outside the general practice of free movement and how some elements of MR already emerge in the skilled labour market of professionals.

In 2000 the European Union and its 78 African-Caribbean-Pacific partners signed the Cotonou Agreement, thereby heralding a new era in developmental politics. In the Treaty the European Union set out its commitment to assist its African-Caribbean-Pacific partners 'on the objective of reducing and eventually eradicating poverty consistent with the objective of sustainable development and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy'. Thisbook draws attention to limitations in the European Union's approach to implementing pro-poor, environmentally sustainable development amongst its African-Caribbean-Pacific partners. Accessible and comprehensive, this study will be of use to anyone with an interest in North-South relations, International Political Economy, Environmental Politics and Development Politics.

Shows that networks in European integration governance were not a phenomenon that developed in the 1980s out of a 'hollowing out' of the nation-states in the 1970s. Based throughout on newly accessible sources, the authors discuss various networks and show how they contributed to constitutional choices and policy decisions after World War II.

Drawing on an extensive range of political, legal and sociological materials, the author presents and evaluates environmental policy-making in France at a time when environmental problems are growing in complexity and gravity. He highlights the range of inputs to the policy process - including popular movements, green parties, interest group representation, EU legislation and international treaties - and evaluates the diverse nature of the outcomes which lead him to conclude that because new developments involve not only changes in policy content but also adaptation of policy style, environmental demands are progressively changing the shape of politics itself.

Eight former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe joined the European Union in 2004 and two more are scheduled to do so in 2007. This book examines the influence of the EU on party politics in all ten countries from a variety of perspectives and using a range of empirical sources. The book thus makes an original and distinctive contribution both to contemporary EU studies and to the literature on CE party systems and party development.

In a trend that has been developing since the European Union was first established, it has becoming patently obvious that EU policies on the Mediterranean simply do not work. In the past this failure have largely been understood as being the result of problems that are primarily cosmetic in nature with some commentators indicating an issue with structural incentives or enforcement mechanisms in the region while others have pointed to a negligence of historical structures and legacies on the part of the EU that leave a lasting impact.This book provides a compelling alternative understanding of why EU policies on the Mediterranean have failed to work and one that highlights that the problems are far more than simply cosmetic but rather lie at the very foundations on which the entire edifice of EU-Mediterranean policy is built and continues to be built. As high-lighted by case studies using new constructivist Institutionalist perspective, the EU seems to have ignored the central role that ideas play in policies and in the process of policy formation but rather prioritise policies that continue to privilege the economic concerns of the EU, rather than the social concerns of the Mediterranean states. This books is important reading for students and scholars interested in the policy-making process of the EU and the impact of its policies.

Although there are many pamphlets and monographs that cover specific aspects of the European Community, the literature seems to lack a single, scholarly reader that gives a complete account of the many dimensions of European integration. This volume, written by a distinguished group of international specialists, seeks to fill this void by pulling together a broad collection of papers focusing on the political, sociological, and economic issues surrounding the European Union. Beginning with a historical look at the genesis, evolution, and theoretical interpretation of the historical process of European integration, the book goes on to analyze the socio-economic structure of the European community and the social forces operating within it. Students and scholars will find this a valuable, flexible, and versatile text for manifold courses in the social sciences; policymakers and general readers will find this a highly informative and readable evaluation of the current state of the European Union.

"This excellent study combines considerable institutional and policy detail with an assured analysis of government and private sector agent interactions." . Modern and Contemporary France

"One of the main conclusions the reader of this] book can draw is that the best specialists of French contemporary political movements come from the Anglo-Saxon academic world." . H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews OnLine

..". a most welcome contribution to the development of environmental policy] ... Overall, this book is well worth buying, both from an individual and from an institutional perspective. It is excellent value for money and an excellent source of information on environmental policy development and practice that allows one's knowledge to be pushed beyond the traditional Anglo-American axis." . Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy

" A] solid, insightful, fair-minded survey of French environmental policies" . Choice

Drawing on an extensive range of political, legal and sociological materials, the author presents and evaluates environmental policy-making in France at a time when environmental problems are growing in complexity and gravity.

He highlights the range of inputs to the policy process - including popular movements, green parties, interest group representation, EU legislation and international treaties - and evaluates the diverse nature of the outcomes which lead him to conclude that because new developments involve not only changes in policy content but also adaptation of policy style, environmental demands are progressively changing the shape of politics itself."

European integration has had, and is continuing to have, an enormous impact on the state of Europe: through transforming the nation-state; creating new supranational institutions and joint policy-making; integrating markets and liberalizing trade; fiscal redistribution; and through fostering the formation of transnational elite networks and growing identification with Europe; but also through accentuating social friction; raising concerns about the remoteness of supranational policy-making and serving as a focal point for 'Eurosceptic' political mobilization. Thus, it is increasingly crucial for researchers, students and citizens to understand the complex history of the present-day European Union. This book provides them with a highly accessible state of the art introduction to how historians and social scientists have conceptualized, written about, and debated this increasingly shared contemporary history of Europe since World War II.

This book provides a comprehensive review of relations between China and the EU from the perspectives of politics, economy and culture in order to provide a better understanding of the development of the China-EU Strategic Partnership over the past ten years and to explore its future direction. It goes on to discuss China-EU relations against the backdrop of global governance, as well as China's relations with some of the EU member states. The final part of the report presents a comparative analysis of China-EU relations and EU-US relations. This book will help readers to better understand the status quo and to predict China-EU relations in the near future.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union expectations were high that a 'new world order' was emerging in which Russia and the other former Soviet republics would join the Western community of nations. That has not occurred. This volume explains the reasons for this failure and assesses likely future developments in that relationship

David Howarth and Peter Loedel provide a theoretically inspired account of the creation, design, and operation of the European Central Bank, (ECB). Issues explored include the theoretical approaches to the ECB, the antecedents of European monetary authority, the different national perspectives on central bank independence, the complex organization of the bank, the issues of accountability and the difficult first years of the ECB in operation.

The notion of Normative Power Europe (NPE) is that the EU is an 'ideational' actor characterised by common principles and acting to diffuse norms within international relations. Contributors assess the impact of NPE and offer new perspectives for the future exploration of one of the most widely used ideas in the study of the EU in the last decade.

This book aims to broaden readers' understanding of the issues now facing the European Union by explaining the motivation underpinning the process of integration in Western Europe after 1945. The contributors discuss:
- the part played by the Federal Republic of Germany;
- the role of ideas and political movements in stimulating policy;
- the economic interest of West Germany and West German business; and
- the strategic aspects of Germany's policy.
Also included is a German view of French and British attitudes toward a unified Europe and a discussion of the social history of integration.

This book is a study of EU conditionality and compliance during the enlargement to the Central and Eastern European candidate countries. EU conditionality for membership is widely understood as having been a driving force for Europeanization, providing incentives and sanctions for compliance or non-compliance with EU norms, such as the 'Copenhagen Criteria' and the adoption of the acquis communautaire . By taking regional policy and regionalization as a case study, this book provides a comparative analysis of the effects of conditionality on the Central and East European countries and explores the many paradoxes and weaknesses in the use of EU conditionality over time.

The topical study investigates whether strategic norms and beliefs held in different countries have become more similar since 1989 and explores the implications for the viability of a common European Security and Defence Policy. The author argues that national strategic cultures, although distinct, have been subject to three learning mechanisms since 1989: changing threat perceptions, institutional socialisation, and mediatised crises learning. The empirical evidence emerging from various sources shows that some key norms underpinning national strategic cultures have changed substantially, opening opportunities for deeper defence cooperation in Europe.

The integration of the Central and Eastern European transition countries into the European Union is one of the most exciting economic policy issues of today. The book provides a detailed analysis of the economic effects which EU integration has on accession countries. It shows that these countries have already managed to fully remove the anti-trade bias with the EU that existed before the fall of the iron curtain. Benefits from further integration into the EU could result in particular from the fact that full membership in the European Community will increase the credibility of government policy in accession countries. The study explores in depth how these credibility effects can be quantified. The author develops a novel approach to model the transformation process within a dynamic computable general equilibrium framework. Furthermore, he estimates the potential income and welfare effects of EU integration for Poland, the largest transition country with EU candidate status.

The behavior of fiscal authorities and its interplay with budgetary institutions is a recent and increasingly important area of economic research, heightened by the move to single currency in Europe. This volume provides a systematic analysis of issues including the determinants of fiscal retrenchment strategies, the role of numerical and procedural rules, the composition of the adjustment, the (dis)similarity of fiscal behavior across countries, the interactions between fiscal and monetary authorities, and the long run factors shaping fiscal behavior and sustainability.

This book ""presents the first major comparative study of EU Cohesion policy after the May 2004 enlargement and the 2006 Cohesion policy reform. Using a balanced selection of case studies from both old and new member states, it examines the implementation of EU Cohesion policy in an enlarged and increasingly differentiated Europe.