The EU is a supranational organization, whose reach and influence extends well beyond its member states, especially to the many states that have signed various forms of association agreement with it. This book asks whether qualifying states who have eschewed EU membership experience negative effects on their legal and political self-governing abilities, or whether they manage their independence with few such effects. It explores the idea that the closer the affiliation a non-member state has with the EU, the more susceptible to hegemony the relationship appears to be. In addition, the book provides an overview of the total range of agreements the EU has with non-member states. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of in EU/European studies, Scandinavian studies, European and comparative politics, international relations, and democratization studies.

Praise for the 1st Edition?This is a rich and timely volume full of novel glimpses into areas of perennial policy concern ... as well as a host of less familiar concerns.... The extremely readable efforts to make sense of policy conundrums means the book may be used quite profitably in the classroom, and the very fact that all member states are covered testifies to the project?s considerable comparative breadth.??William M. Downs, The Journal of PoliticsThoroughly updated, this new edition of The European Union and the Member States explores the complex relationship between the EU and each of its now 25 members.The country chapters follow a common format, considering: How and in what areas does EU policy affect, and how is it affected by, the member states? What mechanisms do the member states use to implement EU policy? What is each state?s compliance record?Covering the full range of issues?from economic, social, and environmental, to security, to home and justice affairs?the authors offer an insightful discussion of the interplay of EU initiatives with strong, existing national policies and traditions.Eleanor E. Zeff is associate professor of political science at Drake University. Ellen B. Pirro is president of Pirro International Research.Contents: Introduction?the Editors. Policymaking and Politics in the New European Union?J. McCormick. Early Union Members. Germany?C. Lankowski. Italy?M. Giuliani and S. Piattoni. Belgium and Luxembourg?K. Anderson. France?C. Deubner. The Second Wave. The UK?N. Nugent and J. Mather. Ireland?R.B. Finnegan. Denmark?E. Einhorn. The Mediterranean Round. Greece?N. Zahariadis. Spain and Portugal?S. Royo. The 1995 Enlargement. Austria?G. Faulkner. Sweden?J. Eliasson. Finland?T. Raunio. The 2004 Enlargement. Poland?A. Gruszczak. Hungary?D. Ellison. Malta and Cyprus?R. Pace. Slovenia and Slovakia?J. Occhipinti. The Czech Republic?S. Fisher. The Baltic States?S. Stoltenberg. Conclusion. Conclusion?the Editors.

For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage. Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations. The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.

Jan Klabbers examines how membership of the European Union affect treaties concluded between the member and non-member states.

The objective of this book is to examine how the legal order of Malta, the EU's smallest Member State, manages to cope with the obligations of the EU's acquis communautaire. As far as the legal obligations are concerned, size does not matter. Smaller Member States have the same obligations as the largest, yet they have to meet these same obligations with very fewer resources. This book examines how the Maltese legal system manages to fulfil its obligations both in terms of the supremacy of EU law, as well as how the substantive EU law is transposed and implemented. It also explores how Maltese courts look at EU law and how they manage, or not manage, to enforce it within the context of national law. It can serve as a model to demonstrate how EU law is being implemented in the smallest Member State and can serve as a basis to study the effectiveness of EU law into the domestic law of its Member States in general.

Recoge: 1. From Paris to Lisbon, via Rome, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice. 2. Fundamental values of The European Union. 3. The "Constitution" of The European Union. 4. The legal order of The EU. 5. The position of Union law in relation to the legal order as a whole.

The European Union: How Does it Work? is the perfect introduction to the EU's structure and operations for those coming to the subject for the first time. Leading scholars and practitioners cut through the complexity to explain how the EU really works and why it matters. The third edition of this successful textbook has been updated in light of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the effects of the financial crisis on the Eurozone. It includes three new chapters, on the policy-making process, democracy in the EU, and EU internal and external security. Student understanding of the main actors, policies and developments is aided by the inclusion of helpful learning features throughout the text. The European Union: How Does it Work is also supported by an Online Resource Centre with the following features: For students: - Multiple choice questions - Flash card glossary For registered adopters of the textbook - Seminar questions and activities - PowerPoint® presentations