The pro-European reader

Book abstract:

No doubt about the stance taken by this book: the title tells it up front and direct. The book brings together the most eloquent, elegant and extensive collection of arguments that make the case for Europe, and charts out the new territory for the European argument - the everyday lives of it's citizens and the advantages it will bring to their futures.

Organised in four parts: Parts I and II set out the traditional political case for Europe and consist mainly of reprinted extracts from speeches and moves through the peace and democracy issues to explore the EU's structures. The Political Case for Europe in the 21st Century is the theme of Part III which consists of essays which discuss security, federalism, the European State, and Britain's future role in Europe.

The book moves away from the political and economic factors in Part IV with a series of essays on the cultural and sociological issues including a thought provoking contribution from Simon Kuper proposing that Britons' dreams of Europe might lie more with the Champions League than the results coming out of Strasbourg or Brussels!

The book will interest scholars, students, political researchers and practitioners in the fields of European Union studies.

Dick Leonard is a political writer and journalist currently with European Voice who has worked in Brussels since 1980. Mark Leonard is Director of the Foreign Policy Centre, an independent think-tank, and a member of Panel 2000, the task force that advises the British Foreign Secretary on promoting Britain abroad.