Introduction

This book seeks to redress an important gap in attempts to conceptualise the process of European integration. The impact of the European Union (EU) policy-making process, and the influence of the European Union institutions, on the wider process of European integration has largely been neglected by integration theorists. ¹ In contrast, the underlying theme of this work is that to properly understand the process of European integration it is vital to understand the dynamics of the EU policy-making process and the crucial role of the European institutions and other interests within this process.