This book investigates the institutional and operational development of the Western European Union (WEU) and its proposed enlargement. It assesses the motivations of its leading members and the progress made toward enhancing the WEU's role in the 1996-97 Intergovernmental Conference.

Contributions from professors in the humanities, sociology, classics, and the arts provide the book with a broader dimension by taking the topic of a new, united Europe beyond the usually discussed economic and political aspects. The diverse essays show that a united Europe is far more complex than anticipated by the architects of the Maastricht treaty.

As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth. The European Union, or EU, an intergovernmental body composed of most of the European states, is one of the two largest in the world. Of the member states in the EU, Germany has the largest national economy. Thirteen EU countries share a common unit of currency, the Euro. Major economic sectors in Europe include agriculture, manufacturing, and investment. The majority of the EU's trade is with the United States, China, India, Russia and non-member European states. This book focuses on the latest economic and political issues in Europe.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the future prospects for the Western European defense industry under the terms of the European Union (EU) and the Maastricht Treaty. An analysis of the defense sector of Western European industry promises an indication as to the viability of the ultimate objectives of Maastricht. The defense sector must be internally reconciled within the EU, and Western Europe as a whole, if the European Union is to become a reality. Three prerequisites for resolution are political, economic, and security interests. They do not operate in isolation. The political realm faces an immediate institutional impediment in Article 223 of the Treaty of Rome. Article 223 has inhibited the movement to a true European market and hinders aspects of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Despite lacking treaty justification, the EC Commission asserted, in 1988, that the defense sector should be brought under the single European Act of 1987. Mustering the political will to address the extension of the SEA, or the failure to do so, affects both the defense industrial sector and the long term vision of Maastricht. However, such a political decision is not without economic consequences. Currently, 80 percent of EU military expenditure is still spent within the respective national borders. Governments would be forced to concede significant influence over what has traditionally been a sector of the economy very closely associated to the state. Relevant political discussion will have to take place in the face of industrial consolidation, rationalization, declining job roles, rising Research and Development costs and competition From abroad.

This book examines the role of the historical development of the Western European Union in regards to the evolving pan-European security environment.

The European Union is facing a profound crisis and is confronted with multiple challenges. Over the last two decades, it has experienced a series of dramatic changes to its powers, its institutional design, its constitutional framework and its borders. At the same time, the uneasy relationship between European citizens and elites has complicated both the reform and the function of the Union. While the Lisbon treaty provided some answers to crucial questions, it did not clarify the nature of the EU, which remains at the crossroads of federal and intergovernmental logic. The current economic and financial crisis puts the EU’s legitimacy further under pressure and creates the impression of a turning point. This book provides a concise analysis of the EU and its dynamics by paying particular attention to its day to day operation. It aims to help students and scholars understand its evolution, its institutions, its decision-making and the interactions between the EU and various actors. Avoiding abstract theorizing, the authors propose an easy to read analysis of how the Union works while recognizing the complexity of the situation. Throughout the book, the key issues of European integration are addressed: democratic deficit, politicization, the role of member states, institutional crisis and citizen involvement.