ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides both a historical overview of the emergence of the institutions of the European Union, and an assessment of the future issues facing European governments as they seek to move towards ever closer integration. It explains global economy, but in the specific context of Europe's role in the international financial system. The European idea of a fourfold division of human experience does provide a useful framework within which to organize this particular expression of a European geography. The book focuses on gender and health. It explores how gender is crucial to the structuring and negotiation of social relations in Europe. It addresses the reforms in the provision of health services across Europe, contrasting the fiscal crises affecting western Europe with the effects of economic restructuring within the east.
