The Routledge Guide to the European Union Paperback Book

The Routledge Guide to the European UnionAuthor: Leonard, Dick,Taylor, Robert
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Category: Politics & Government, EU & European Institutions, International Law
Book Format: Paperback

Written by experts, this long-established and definitive guide to the workings of the European Union provides comprehensive, straightforward and readable coverage of this sometimes misunderstood and complex institution. It explains not only what happens but also why, and analyses the EU's strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for it to be more effective. With the EU's very existence under pressure due to fiscal crises and the eurozone, migration and borders, and Euroscepticism, it specifically outlines:

• How it works: the institutions, the mechanisms
• Every area of EU competence from agriculture to workers' rights
• The effects of the single market and the single currency and the successes and stresses of the eurozone
• The impact of the enlargement of the EU and the prospects for further enlargement and for closer political integration
• The EU under strain - the 2008 recession and after
• 'Britain in or out'
• Fully updated and revised material with new data, statistics, examples and non-partisan coverage

The Routledge Guide to the European Union is well-established as the clearest and most comprehensive guide to how the EU operates. This new edition brings you up to date at a crucial stage in its history at a time when, arguably, it has never been under greater threat, but conversely is perhaps more important than ever.

Table Of ContentsIntroduction


Part I: The Background


1. The Origins


2. Evolution 1958-2010


3. The EU under strain 2008-


4. The Treaties


Part II: The Institutions


5. The Commission


6. The Council of Ministers


7. The European Council


8. The European Parliament


9. The Economic and Social Committee and The Committee of the Regions


10. The European Court of Justice


11. The Court of Auditors


12. The European Investment Bank


13. Other EU bodies


14. The Bureaucracy: facts, figures and costs


Part III: The Competences


15. Financing the Union


16. Trade


17. The Single Market


18. Competition Policy


19. Economic and Monetary Policy


20. Taxation


21. Agriculture


22. Fisheries


23. Research and Innovation


24. Regional Policy


25. Workers' Rights


26. Energy


27. Transport


28. The Environment


29. Climate Change


30. Justice and Home Affairs


31. Consumers


32. Education


33. Women's Rights


34. Culture and The Media


35. Citizens' Rights and Symbolism


36. Development Assistance


37. Foreign, Security and Defence Policy


Part IV: Special problems


38. Enlargement


39. The UK: In or Out?


40. The Future


Appendices


1. Basic statistics of EU member states


2. Presidents of the High Authority, Commission & European Council


3. The European Commission 2014-19


4. The Directorates-General and Services of the Commission


5. Addresses of main institutions & specialised agencies


6. Political party groups in the European Parliament


7. Overseas links with the EU


8. The treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon


9. Chronology of main events concerning the European Union
About Dick LeonardDick Leonard is a journalist, author and former Labour MP. He was Assistant Editor of The Economist for 12 years, and has also worked for The Observer, the BBC, the Fabian Society, the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Publishers Association.

Robert Taylor runs European Research Associates, a Brussels consultancy specialising in European public policy. For more than 30 years, he worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent, covering the European Union, reporting on its performance, policies and personalities.