Decision-Making in the European Union

By John Peterson and Elizabeth Bomberg

Based on exhaustive research, this book explains how the European Union makes decisions in seven major policy sectors. Written in a clear, user-friendly style, it brings the EU alive for a student and non-specialist audience. The book's central themes are that informal norms often matter more than formal rules, agency often matters more than structure, and abrupt change often punctuates deadlock. It offers a theoretically-based introduction to the lively, humorous and fascinating politics of a unique experiment in modern governance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 033360492X
• ISBN13: 9780333604922
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: MacMillan
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

comprehensive but readable

Peterson and Bomberg provide a comprehensive but readable introduction to EU decision making. They distinguish between three levels of decision-making. At the so-called "super-systemic" level history making decisions about the EU system are being made. Examples of this kind are the Maastricht or Amsterdam treaties. At the systemic level, the EU institutions (Council, Parliament, Commission, Court of Justice) interact and decide directives. Details of such directives are worked out at the sub-systemic level where the committees of these various institutions are active. The authors also spend some time explaining the basic makeup of these EU institutions. They then concentrate on the most important policy areas. All in all, this book can be recommended both to beginners and further advanced students of European integration.