Guide to the European Union, 9th ed.

Abstract:

The aim of this book is to provide a simplified account of the origin, history, institutions and functions of the European Union in a readily accessible form for the intelligent reader without prior knowledge of the EU.

The work is organised over four parts. The first part deals with the origins of the European Community and its development up to and beyond the appointment of Commission President Romano Prodi in September 1999. Part two turns to the institutions, providing a detailed description of each from the Commission through the European Council, Parliament, Court of Justice and the European Investment Bank to the minor Agencies and the bureaucracy. Part three looks at the principal areas of action of the Community, featuring chapters on finance, the single market, taxation, agriculture, transport, education, foreign, defence and security policy and many others. Part four considers some specific problems such as enlargement, and the difficulties which the UK continues to experience in adapting to EU membership. It concludes with a look to the future and poses some questions that lie ahead.

The work will provide a reliable reference for scholars, students, and researchers engaged in European Studies and anyone resident within the EU or having business with EU countries.

Dick Leonard has been writing on European issues for over 25 years. A former assistant editor of The Economist, he has also written for the Observer, Europe magazine and European Voice.