This book presents a wide range of perspectives on the role of national parliaments in EU politics and policy-making. Many accounts of the role of national parliaments portray them as passive victims of European integration. This study instead examines their role within the EU policy-making process, looking at efforts to address perceived democratic and information 'deficits'.
Bringing together leading scholars in the fields of European studies, public policy analysis, and legislative research, this new volume provides:
a thorough and wide-ranging synthetic analysis of the position of national parliaments within the EU policy-making structures
a range of detailed country studies, including for the first time an analysis of the new member state parliaments in Central and Eastern Europe
an analysis of the significant changes to the position of national parliaments brought about by the recent Convention process and the provisions of the EU's Constitutional Treaty.
Making an important contribution to an emerging comparative literature on the parliamentary dimension to EU public policy-making, National Parliaments within the Enlarged European Union will interest students and researchers in the fields of European integration, EU politics, and public policy analysis.

In May 2004, eight former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe acceded to the European Union.

This new book examines the Eastern expansion of the EU through a tripartite structure, developing an empirical, conceptual and institutional analysis to provide a rounded and substantive account of EU enlargement, with new theoretical insights. The foreword is by written by Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament.

John O'Brennan also explores:

• 
  
• why the EU decided to expand its membership
• 
  

  
  

• what factors drove this process forward?
• 
  

  
  

  
  

• how did the institutional environment of the EU influence enlargement outcomes?
• 
  

In this context he comprehensively covers the role of the European Council, Commission and Parliament.

This important volume will of great interest to students and scholars of European politics and European Union studies.

This book presents a wide range of perspectives on the role of national parliaments in EU politics and policy-making. Many accounts of the role of national parliaments portray them as passive victims of European integration. This study instead examines their role within the EU policy-making process, looking at efforts to address perceived democratic and information 'deficits'.

Bringing together leading scholars in the fields of European studies, public policy analysis, and legislative research, this new volume provides:

• a thorough and wide-ranging synthetic analysis of the position of national parliaments within the EU policy-making structures
• a range of detailed country studies, including for the first time an analysis of the new member state parliaments in Central and Eastern Europe
• an analysis of the significant changes to the position of national parliaments brought about by the recent Convention process and the provisions of the EU's Constitutional Treaty.

Making an important contribution to an emerging comparative literature on the parliamentary dimension to EU public policy-making, National Parliaments within the Enlarged European Union will interest students and researchers in the fields of European integration, EU politics, and public policy analysis.

In May 2004, eight former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe acceded to the European Union.

This new book examines the Eastern expansion of the EU through a tripartite structure, developing an empirical, conceptual and institutional analysis to provide a rounded and substantive account of EU enlargement, with new theoretical insights. The foreword is by written by Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament.

John O'Brennan also explores:

• why the EU decided to expand its membership
• what factors drove this process forward?
• how did the institutional environment of the EU influence enlargement outcomes?

In this context he comprehensively covers the role of the European Council, Commission and Parliament.

This important volume will of great interest to students and scholars of European politics and European Union studies.