European integration is at a turning point with implications for all member states. The Amsterdam treaty marks a shift towards constitutional issues. A group of scholars argue that these issues are rooted in those on the European level and shifting models of political and economic organization.

The clearest and most up-to-date account of the achievements—and setbacks—of the European Union since 1945. Europe has been transformed since the Second World War. No longer a checkerboard of entirely sovereign states, the continent has become the largest single-market area in the world, with most of its members ceding certain economic and political powers to the central government of the European Union. This shift is the product of world-historical change, but the process is not well understood. The changes came in fits and starts. There was no single blueprint for reform; rather, the EU is the result of endless political turmoil and dazzling bureaucratic gymnastics. As Brexit demonstrates, there are occasional steps backward, too. Cutting through the complexity, Richard Pomfret presents a uniquely clear and comprehensive analysis of an incredible achievement in economic cooperation. The Economic Integration of Europe follows all the major steps in the creation of the single market since the postwar establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community. Pomfret identifies four stages of development: the creation of a customs union, the deepening of economic union with the Single Market, the years of monetary union and eastward expansion, and, finally, problems of consolidation. Throughout, he details the economic benefits, costs, and controversies associated with each step in the evolution of the EU. What lies ahead? Pomfret concludes that, for all its problems, Europe has grown more prosperous from integration and is likely to increase its power on the global stage.

Using new, international source material, this book digs deeply into the history of the Netherlands in Europe - a subject that is today more topical than ever.

Fully revised and updated throughout, Theorizing European Integration 2nd edition provides a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical study of European integration. Combining perspectives from international relations, comparative politics and social and political theory, Dimitris N. Chryssochoou offers a complete overview of the many competing approaches that have sought to capture and explain the evolving political nature of the European Union (EU) and its qualitative transition from a union of states to a polity in its own right. Contemporary issues, themes and theories addressed include: the different uses and current state of EU theorizing statecentric accounts of integration and their critics new normative challenges to the study of the EU the political dynamics of European treaty reform new forms of democracy, citizenship and governance the limits and possibilities of EU constitutionalism interdisciplinary understandings of EU polityhood the introduction of a theory of organized synarchy the transformations of state sovereignty in late modern Europe.

Far from displaying a uniform pattern of integration, the European Union varies significantly across policy areas, institutional development and individual countries. Why do some policies such as the Single Market attract non-EU member states, while some member states choose to opt out of other EU policies? In answering these questions, this innovative new text provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the study of European integration. The authors introduce the most important theories of European integration and apply these to the trajectories of key EU policy areas – including the single market, monetary policy, foreign and security policy, and justice and home affairs. Arguing that no single theory offers a completely convincing explanation of integration and differentiation in the EU, the authors put forward a new analytical perspective for describing and explaining the institutions and policies of the EU and their development over time. Written by a team of prominent scholars in the field, this thought-provoking book provides a new synthesis of integration theory and an original way of thinking about what the EU is and how it works.

Discusses how a distinctive 'European' identity has grown over the centuries, especially with the EU.

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.

The European Union faces a crossroads in the twenty-first century. While there is evidence of declining enthusiasm for European integration, the EU plays an increasingly vital role in tackling problems that can no longer be dealt with at member state level. In recent years, the EU has developed a stronger foreign, security and defence policy, and has had to face up to the challenges of tackling organised crime, human trafficking and drug smuggling. In this fully updated new edition, Alasdair Blair examines the economic, political, social and personal factors that have shaped the process of European integration from the end of the Second World War until the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. Written in a clear and jargon-free style, the book explores: The context of European integration and expansion The relations between the European Union and its member states The institutional evolution of the European Union Methods of decision-making Key policies of the European Union The future direction of the European Union Comprehensive and accessible, this book is an essential guide to understanding the relevance of the European Union in the twenty-first century.

Richardson introduces the policy-making processes at work in the EU. This edition has been significantly improved to make it even more accessible for second and third year undergraduates. A website will also support this edition, featuring some of the more technical material such as statistics.

When the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect in December 2009, the event seemed to mark the beginning of a longer phase of institutional consolidation for the EU. Since 2010, however, the EU has faced multiple crises, which have rocked its foundations and deeply challenged the narrative of 'the end of the history of integration'. The military crisis in eastern Ukraine and the refugee crisis call for a joint approach, but in practice reveal the difficulty of maintaining even the appearance of European solidarity and political unanimity. The financial and socio-economic crisis in southern Europe and Brexit present the EU with the latest set of challenges. If seventy years of European integration have taught us anything, it is that fundamental crises as well as moments of rapid institutional change form integral parts of its history. The Unfinished History of European Integration presents the reader with historical and theoretical knowledge on which well-founded judgements can be based. This textbook on European integration history has been written as a student textbook for a bachelor's or master's programme in European integration history, as a manual for the analysis of EU sources and, finally, as an information resource for a bachelor's or master's thesis.