This book presents the first comprehensive analysis of the major treaty reforms over the past two decades, to consider whether the path from the Single European Act in 1985 to the present Constitutional Treaty has been pushed by the Franco-German tandem, or has been the result of leadership provided the Commission or smaller member states.

The challenges that have been facing the European Union in recent years have given rise to the question: who leads the EU? This book offers a systematic analysis of political leadership in the EU. This volume offers a theoretical and conceptual analysis of political leadership in the EU. It deals with questions such as what kind of leadership is there in the different domains (such as climate change or central banking). It also examines how various EU institutions (European Commission, European Parliament) exert or have exerted leadership. Furthermore, it examines the role of the presidents of some of these institutions, such as the European Commission the European Council, the European Central Bank, but also of selected national leaders. Although the book does not advance a single leadership concept, the findings of the individual case studies show that the EU is by no means leaderless. The chapters originally published as a special issue in the Journal of European Integration.

This book focuses on the impact of political leaders on the integration process led by the European Union. It aims at a better understanding of the European Union through the actions, contributions, and ideas of these outstanding characters to European integration and disintegration. By doing so, the book offers an entirely new perspective, presenting the actions of the main actors involved, their background, their historical time, their challenges and problems, and how they influenced the European Union's development. The authors in detail discuss different ideas connected to leaders, such as Jean Monnet and neo-functionalism, Spinelli and federalism or Churchill and the idea of cooperation. Furthermore, the book examines major policies and events, like the Common Agricultural Policy, the creation of the Euro as a consequence of the German reunification and Mitterrand’s reactions, or Brexit and its connection to the impact of Margaret Thatcher. The global essence of the book makes it a must-read for students, researchers, and scholars interested in a better understanding of the European Union's integration process.

Leadership of powerful states and organizations is crucial for the success of regional integration projects. This book offers a theoretical model explaining such leadership. By applying the model to eurozone governance and reform, the book combines innovative theorizing on leadership in regional and international affairs with original research on Economic and Monetary Union politics. Six in-depth case studies analyze the (non- )leadership of Germany and EU institutions in eurozone crisis management. Moreover, the book evaluates the eurozone's leadership record since the outbreak of its crisis and helps readers understand the leadership of collective actors, and the extent to which they can contribute to overcoming crisis and fostering European integration. In particular, the book investigates the under-researched questions of who provided leadership in the eurozone crisis and why, and which conditions are required to achieve successful leadership in the EU. Magnus G. Schoeller is a researcher at the Centre for European Integration Research (EIF), University of Vienna, Austria, and Research Associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies in Florence, Italy.

Small States and EU Governance shows that the EU's rotating Council presidency and small states' capacity to make use of it have been underestimated. It examines the political objectives the presidency serves and presents a systematic and comparative assessment of its nature and influence in internal market and foreign policy issues.

A major new theoretical and empirical contribution to our understanding of the influence of EU institutions vis-á-vis governments in the major decisions about both widening and deepening the European Union. Engagingly written and based on significant new archival research and original interviews, Derek Beach offers both a new history of the major treaty negotiations of the EU and a new leadership model of European integration.

At a time when the economic troubles and bailouts of Greece and other European economies are casting significant doubt on the future viability of the Eurozone and the EU, it is crucial to examine the origins of the political will and leadership that is necessary to move the integration process forward. This book makes a significant conceptual and empirical contribution by elucidating the extent to which the integration process hinges not on institutions and norms, but on the relations among leaders. Vogt conducts a comparative diplomatic history of three critical junctures in the process of European integration: the creation of the Common Market (1955–1957), British accession (1969–1973), and the introduction of the Euro (1989–1993). He illustrates how personal diplomacy, leadership constellations, and the dynamics among leaders enable breakthroughs or inhibit accords. He also reveals how the EU’s system of top-level decision-making that privileges institutionalised summitry has operated in the past and suggests – in a separate chapter – why it has come to atrophy and prove more dysfunctional of late.

This book outlines the content of the main treaties that form the 'constitutional' basis of the European Union and analyses changes in these over time. The EU has expanded its policy scope and taken in many more members transferring powers to common supranational institutions in a way seen nowhere else in the world.

This Handbook introduces the institutions, organisations and policy processes that make up EU public administration, including those that typically operate beneath the surface, and critically reviews the state of the art in research. Paying close attention to the multi-level nature of EU governance, it is a vital resource for graduate and postgraduate students in the disciplines of European studies, political science and EU law. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

The current European Union (EU) has existed since 1 November 1993. It emerged from the Treaty of Maastricht largely negotiated during 1991. But the history of European integration goes further back. The Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951, and in 1957 the two Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or EURATOM), which started operating from 1 January 1958. For some years the EEC was often referred to as the Common Market. The Merger Treaty of 1965 (in force since 1967) created a single executive, the European Commission, and a single Council of Ministers. The three Communities from the beginning in 1958 shared the Parliamentary Assembly and European Court of Justice (ECJ). Although these Communities still had separate treaties, they were increasingly seen as the European Community (EC). This new edition of Historical Dictionary of the European Union has a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, member states, internal policies, external relations, basic theories, treaties, and law. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the European Union.