The European Union at the Crossroads An Introduction to the EU's Institutional Evolution

This study provides an account of the EU's institutional evolution. It identifies the enduring features and tensions in the EU's polity, notably against the backdrop of the Community method of the 1950s. The author analyses the milestones in the European integration process such as the Single European Act and the Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice and examines their impact on the crucial stages in the EU's decision-making process. Special attention goes to the institutional debates on the EU's attempt to speak with a single voice in world affairs. In the context of the EU's impending enlargement and the ongoing Convention on the future of the EU, this book focuses on the complexities of the EU and its future.

The Author: Professor Youri Devuyst teaches Politics and Institutions of the European Union at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels). He has served in the Cabinet of European Commissioner Karel Van Miert and of three Belgian Ministers of Foreign Affairs.