How The Eu Really Works

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. The current political, 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. This edition has been fully updated to include: Brexit, the migration crisis as well as the consequences of the 2014 EP elections for all the EU institutions; An in-depth analysis of the 2014 EU elections; More empirical data across the board; New developments in EU decision-making such as the trialogues, and differentiated integration; More in-depth discussion of the role of interest groups in EU policy-making. This text is of key interest to students, scholars and readers interested in European Union politics and studies.

This book provides a concise analysis of the EU and its dynamics by paying particular attention to its day to day operation. It proposes 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.

The European Union: How does it work? is a perfect introduction to the EU's structure and operations for those studying it for the first time. An expert team of scholars and practitioners cut through the complexity to explain how the EU works in practice, and equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to study EU politics.

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.

A fully revised and updated 2nd edition of this practical guide to how EU decision-making works − and how stakeholders can get their views across at the most useful moments. Politicians and officials need input from a broad range of stakeholders so that they understand the impacts that their decisions will have and make the right choices. Understanding how the legislative process works, and when and how they can intervene to make their voice heard, is essential for stakeholders - whether they are business organisations, NGOs, Member State governments, local authorities, or businesses and governments from outside the EU.This book has been created by a team of experienced EU public affairs professionals to explain the interplay of the EU institutions, the different procedures and challenges of the Parliament, Commission and Council, and the steps that need to be taken by stakeholders to engage effectively and at the right time. Packed with real-world insights, timelines for how legislation is adopted, checklists of key points and actions, flowcharts and explanatory diagrams - this is a highly accessible resource for study, reference and planning. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how Brussels really works.The book is divided into three sections: ● Section 1 - How the EU Institutions Work1. The European Commission2. The Council of the EU and the European Council3. The European Parliament4. Other EU Institutions and Bodies● Section 2 - How EU Decision-Making Works5. The Ordinary Legislative Procedure: New Codecision6. Delegated and Implementing Acts: "New Comitology"● Section 3 - How to Work with the EU Institutions and Decision-Making7. Ethics and Transparency in the EU8. Practical Guide to Working with the EU Institutions9. Practical Guide to Working with EU Decision-Making10. Conclusion - Designing a Successful EU Lobbying CampaignAppendix: Suggested Reading and Social MediaIndex

From the publishers of The Ultimate EU Test Book ¿ this is the book for anyone wanting to know about the opportunities a career in the EU public administration can provide and the many different ways to `get in¿. It is also highly relevant to those already with temporary positions or internships who want to move their careers forward. Working for the EU: How to Get In explains:¿ The wide range of positions in the EU institutions and agencies, in Brussels, Luxembourg and worldwide¿ The many types, advantages and disadvantages of permanent and temporary posts ¿ How temporary posts can become stepping stones to permanent or very long-term jobs¿ The critical difference between being selected and being recruited ¿ and how recruitment really works¿ The little-known alternatives to passing an open competition¿ The value of stages and other types of traineeships¿ The crucial importance of `being there¿ and building your networks ¿ Why and how you should think strategically, keeping as many options open as possibleFull of insights and systematic, objective advice you can get nowhere else, Working for the EU: How to Get In comes from the publishers of The Ultimate EU Test Book ¿ Europe¿s No.1 textbook for EPSO competitions

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was one of the pre-eminent figures of the Italian Renaissance – he was also one of the most paradoxical. He spent an incredible amount of time writing notebooks, perhaps even more time than he ever held a brush, yet at the same time Leonardo was Renaissance culture’s most fanatical critic of the word. When Leonardo criticized writing he criticized it as an expert on words; when he was painting, writing remained in the back of his mind. In this book, Joost Keizer argues that the comparison between word and image fuelled Leonardo’s thought. The paradoxes at the heart of Leonardo’s ideas and practice also defined some of Renaissance culture’s central assumptions about culture and nature: that there is a look to script, that painting offered a path out of culture and back to nature, that the meaning of images emerged in comparison with words, and that the difference between image-making and writing also amounted to a difference in the experience of time.

This is a fully revised edition of a well-established text for students. It offers an invaluable and up-to- date interpretation of the European policy process. Helen Wallace and William Wallace have assembled a team of internationally-renowned authors to present fourteen case studies --ranging from analyses of the CAP and environmental policy, to the politics of Economic and Monetary Union and the new World Trade Organisation. Helen Wallace also provides, in the two opening chapters, an introduction and overview of European politics, policy, and institutions. In concluding thevolume, William Wallace reflects on the future for the EU as it faces calls for ever closer political integration. Policy-Making in the European Union provides the student with a timely and provocative insight into European integration in a period of critical change.