For 16 years, Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany. She led the country through numerous crises, shaping both Germany and international politics with her actions and attitudes. In her memoirs, co-written with her long-time political advisor Beate Baumann, she reflects on her life in two German states – 35 years in the German Democratic Republic, 35 years in reunited Germany.

More intimately than ever before, she talks about her childhood, youth, and studies in the GDR and the dramatic year of 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and her political life began. She also shares recollections and insights from her meetings and conversations with the world's most powerful people. Discussing significant national, European, and international turning points, she shows how the decisions were made that shaped our times. Her book offers a unique insight into the inner workings of power – and is a compelling plea for freedom.

Given the controversies and difficulties which preceded the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is easy to forget that the Treaty is a complex legal document in need of detailed analysis for its impact to be fully understood. Jean-Claude Piris, the Director General of the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union, provides such an analysis, looking at the historical and political contexts of the Treaty, its impact on the democratic framework of the EU and its provisions in relation to substantive law. Impartial legal analysis of the EU's functions, its powers and the treaties which govern it make this the seminal text on the most significant recent development in EU law.

Given the controversies and difficulties which preceded the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, it is easy to forget that the Treaty is a complex legal document in need of detailed analysis for its impact to be fully understood. Jean-Claude Piris, the Director General of the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union, provides such an analysis, looking at the historical and political contexts of the Treaty, its impact on the democratic framework of the EU and its provisions in relation to substantive law. Impartial legal analysis of the EU's functions, its powers and the treaties which govern it make this the seminal text on the most significant recent development in EU law.

Die Agenda 21, die als Abschlussdokument der UN-Konferenz uber Umwelt und Entwicklung 1992 in Rio de Janeiro verabschiedet wurde, stellt den Kommunen die Aufgabe, mit allen Interessengruppen ihrer Burgerschaft uber einen Konsultationsprozess einen Konsens uber eine lokale Agenda zu erzielen. Diese Agenda soll die wirtschaftliche und soziale Entwicklung ebenso einbeziehen wie die Erhaltung und Pflege der naturlichen Ressourcen. In der vorliegenden Publikation berichten Autoren aus mehreren deutschen Kommunen uber ihre Konzepte, Methoden und Wege bei der Ausarbeitung einer lokalen Agenda. Sie bietet daher Kommunalpolitikern, Mitgliedern von Burgervereinen, Beratern und anderen Interessierten eine wichtige Handlungsgrundlage und Informationsquelle.