ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents that European integration has had a rather limited impact on the overall mode of interest group politics in the Low Countries. It deals with the major political actors and institutions: the central governments, the various parliaments, political parties, the courts, the national bureaucracies, and interest groups. The book offers a short history of consensus politics concerning the specific actor, institution, or policy area before European integration 'hit home' hard. It provides closer analysis of how the Low Countries organize day-to-day EU coordination, in particular whether this coordination features consensual practices. The book shows that the ratification of the European Constitutional Treaty in the Low Countries has had some impact on the elitist nature of consensus politics. It demonstrates that the potential power of EU-focused party elites has increased, especially when they are in government.
