Why did France, with its strong sense of national identity, want to give up the Franc for the Euro? This book, by a former British diplomat in Paris, draws on new archive evidence to explore France's drive for European Economic and Monetary Union, and how unresolved Franco-German tensions over its design led to crisis.

Since the mid-1990s, the European Union has defined the Asia Pacific as one of its key strategic targets on its ambitious road towards a global power. Over the past decades, big changes have taken place on both sides and the wider world. It's high time to evaluate the EU's performance in its Asian policy. In fact, the EU is at crossroads with its Asia Pacific policy. On several aspects, the EU is compelled to redefine its interests and roles, and rethink its strategies and policies towards the dynamic and ever important Asia Pacific region. This volume addresses this theme, by elaborating the general context, major issues and countries in the EU's Asia Pacific policy. It covers issue areas of traditional security, economy and trade, public diplomacy, and human security and focuses on the EU's relations with China, Japan, the ASEAN countries, and Australasia. -- .

This new text introduces the history, evolution and contemporary state of one of the European Union's most important, expensive and controversial policies. It examines the role that cohesion policy plays in European integration, as well as in economic development across regions, and analyzes the key debates and issues at stake.

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.

This book is a unique attempt at a general assessment of European Union frontiers. Internal frontiers are losing some of their key functions but there are many responses to the new situation, as a case study of French frontiers abundantly illustrates. An examination of the EU external frontier shows that the EU is acquiring some state-like features, but the eastern frontier provides abundant evidence of the external frontier's complexity. The authors conclude that the increasing openness of national frontiers will continue, but their effective abolition, whether by European integration or through globalization, is improbable.

'A major contribution to the rethinking of the socialist project. The analysis is clear and profound and identifies the dilemmas but also the potential of contemporary socialism.' - Andrew Gamble, Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield;This comparative and theoretical account of the heritage and prospects of socialism in Western Europe characterises socialist political theory as transformative. Socialists counterpose objective social appraisal, such as the theory of capitalism, to implausibly ambitious agents of change - the proletariat or the interventionist state. This framework of analysis generates a comparative account of European socialist parties and their attitudes to international institutions - especially the European Union - and suggests a favourable prognosis for the future of socialism.

Since the end of the Cold War, Europe has been the stage of a large-scale project of international socialization. European regional organizations such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, NATO, and the EU assumed the task of inducting the transition countries to the liberal-democratic standards of the Western international community. How and when have Western organizations had an impact on the transformation of Europe? Why have they been successful in some countries but not in others? How can we adequately analyze and theorize international socialization in Europe? In a comparative analysis of nine countries, the book tests theoretical conditions and mechanisms of international norm promotion and shows that successful socialization has been a result of credible EU and NATO membership conditionality as well as moderate political costs of compliance for the target governments.

This volume examines the ways in which EU policies towards developing countries are changing in response to the challenges of globalization and the end of the Cold War. It analyzes the relationships between the 15 Member States and more than 140 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean, examining the recent evolution and prospects for the future from a multidisciplinary perspective. It shows how the EU is a central focus for developing countries, as both the largest source of aid and technical cooperation and as the world's largest market for their exports.

Europe's Economic Dilemma analyses the reasons why the European Union's growth rate has fallen during the last quarter of a century to little more than a third of its previous level. It concludes that the major reason has been politically driven attempts to lock EU currencies together in inappropriate economic circumstances. These have led to chronic deflation, rising unemployment and falling investment and competitiveness as EU Member States, without exchange rate flexibility, have found themselves unable to compete with Germany.

The European Union (EU) is in crisis. The crisis extends beyond Brexit, the fluctuating fortunes of the eurozone and the challenge of mass migration. It cuts to the core of the EU itself. Trust is eroding; power is shifting; politics are toxic; disillusionment is widespread; and solidarity has frayed. In this major new text leading academics come together to unpack all dimensions of the EU in crisis, and to analyse its implications for the EU, its member states and the ongoing study of European integration.

This groundbreaking new textbook offers extensive coverage of EU External Action studies, from its major concepts to the key theories in the field. Over the past decades, the European Union has progressively developed into a significant global actor in an increasing number of policy fields. This long-awaited volume looks into different ways of conceptualizing the EU as a global actor, the processes and impact of EU external action, explanations offered by IR and integration theories, the discursive, normative, practice and gender 'turns', and the 'decentring agenda' for EU external action. The book offers a reader-friendly guidance on these various ways in which to study the EU as a global actor: each chapter introduces one concept, approach or theory and illustrates its application by a case study of EU external action. In drawing the different perspectives together, the book underscores that 'EU External Action Studies' is becoming an academic speciality in its own right. Written by leading experts, the volume will make essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners of EU external action. EU External Action Studies nowadays attract attention from scholars and students in International Relations (IR), Foreign Policy Analysis and (interdisciplinary) EU Studies, as well as from practitioners.

This timely contribution pulls no punches and views the UK as institutionally Eurosceptic across politics and society, from the press to defence. It represents a rich and original contribution to the emerging field of Eurosceptic studies, and a key contribution to this important issue.

Almost all aspects of modern politics have been deeply Europeanized, yet we know surprisingly little about how the EU affects the inner workings of national government. This book conceptualizes the profound Europeanization of British environmental government and policy both as a lagged response to European integration and as an important determinant of Britain's contribution to that process. By combining political theories of the EU with new empirical research, Andrew Jordan offers a genuinely fresh perspective on the evolution of modern European governance.

The subject of this Conference concerns the impact the enlargement of the Euro pean Union has on the constitutional provisions of both levels of European ad ministration, the national and the European level. This subject is the more attractive because the 'constitutional' impact of en largement is an essential element in the context of the 'rule of law' as one of the 1 general principles of the Union. Here a relationship does exist with objectives such as a good and transparent system of governance, a democratic legislative process, an independent judiciary and an adequate system of legal protection. As to the national level, the implications membership of the Union has for the constitutional texts of the (candidate) member States have a connection with the fundamental characteristics of Community law such as priority of European law (over national law), direct applicability and direct effect. These principles reflect the interest in ensuring that European law, once applied in the national context by the public authorities or the judiciary, is made fully effective, for the benefit not only of the public authorities but also of the ordinary citizen."

The European Union's evolution to become a global actor is examined through its relationship with the United States from the Yomkippur war to the Gulf conflict. Indepth case-studies of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, martial law in Poland 1981-82 and the Kurdish crisis in Iraq 1991 are shown to support a theoretical critique. The dominant 'realist' approach to international relations is unable to adequately explain transatlantic tensions in this period. New frameworks are needed to explain the 'agency-structure' of internal European and EU-US relationships.

This book is the most detailed and up-to-date account of the state of the European Union on the eve of its biggest enlargement so far, and also considers its future prospects in several key areas. The book explains why the ten applicant countries wanted to join the EU and how they succeeded after lengthy negotiations.
Each chapter is a cutting-edge overview by a leading figure in the field and subjects covered include:

· the enlargement-integration debate
· the politics of the EU's new member states
· the role of the European Convention
· the political economy of an enlarged Europe
· the challenges of developing common European foreign and security policy
· the EU's relations with its neighbours
· EU-American relations

Contents:
1. Fiscal federalism and EMU: an appraisal Philip Whyman and Mark Baimbridge Part 1: Theory of fiscal federalism 2. An essay on fiscal federalism Wallace E. Oates 3. The political economy of EMU and the EU Stability Pact Ralph Rotte Part 2: Development of EU budgetary measures 4. The development of EU budgetary measures and the rise of structural funding Jeffrey Harrop 5. The development of the EU budget and EMU Brian Ardy Part 3: EMU and fiscal federalism 6. Stabilisation in EMU: a critical review Robert Ackrill 7. Fiscal and monetary policies Edward M. Gramlich and Paul R. Wood Part 4: A global perspective 8. Australia's federal experience Jeff Petchey and Graeme Wells 9. Fiscal federalism in Switzerland: a public choice approach Christoph A. Schaltegger and René L. Frey 10. Fiscal institutions, regional adjustment and convergence in Canada's currency union: lessons for EMU Tracy R. Snoddon