Small States and EU Governance shows that the EU's rotating Council presidency and small states' capacity to make use of it have been underestimated. It examines the political objectives the presidency serves and presents a systematic and comparative assessment of its nature and influence in internal market and foreign policy issues.

Evidence from the Ambassador of Portugal on the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency : Report with evidence, 29th report of Session 2006-07

Dutch photographer Bick presents a unique photographic view of the plenary chambers where the European democracy is actually realized. The book features photographs of the plenary chamber in the parliaments of the 28 European Union member states and the two European Parliaments in Brussels and Strasbourg.

This progress report presents evidence taken by the Committee during the summer recess on the draft EU Reform Treaty on which negotiations have been proceeding in the Inter Governmental Conference (IGC), as well as correspondence raising questions with the Minister for Europe. The Committee sets out its plan for further in depth analysis of the impact of the reform Treaty on the UK and discusses specific questions of the role of national parliaments. The report notes the tight mandate given to the IGC has had the effect that its work has been largely technical and asks the Government to report to the House on the impact of this procedure.

Large cross-border mergers have to be cleared in advance by the EC Commission. If the Commission prohibits a merger, or a third party objects to the clearance, the decision can be challenged in the Court of First Instance (CFI). However the CFI procedure can take several months, thereby prolonging uncertainty and sometimes causing bids to be abandoned. This is unsatisfactory and the CBI has proposed a new Competition Court as the way forward. This report looks at this proposal and concludes that such a court would not be the best way forward. Instead there is scope for improving current procedures by firmer case management, reducing the work load of the CFI by transferring trade mark cases, and improving the Commission's handling of cases to reduce the number and scope of challenges.