Policy-making in the European Union, 5th ed.

Abstract:

It is five years since publication of the fourth edition, and during that time the EU has made major strides in its development. Membership now embraces twenty-five countries with yet more players seeking to get ‘on stage’. The euro has been launched and has twelve member states participating. The period has seen collaboration on issues such as internal security, migration, justice and home affairs and steady but perhaps faltering progress towards a common foreign and security policy.

The work is organised in three parts. Part one presents a broad outline of the EU policy process, identifying different theories and concepts for analysis of the policy process, and explanations of the institutions through which those policies are articulated. Part two comprises a collection of fifteen case studies covering the main policy areas in which the EU is significant, amongst which agricultural reform, the single market and competition policy are featured. Part three presents some conclusions on the character of the process and the directions in which it is evolving, and offers observations on the nature of the EU and the challenge of understanding policy-making in this continuously evolving political system.

The work will interest scholars and students, policy researchers and policy makers engaged in European Studies, European enlargement and integration.

Helen Wallace is the Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute.