How the EU Really Works

Olivier Costa is CNRS Research Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of Bordeaux, France. He is also Director of European Political and Governance Studies at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and co-director of the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence of Aquitain in Bordeaux, France. He is associate-editor of the Journal of European Integration, and member of the editorial board the Journal of Legislative Studies and the Italian Political Science Review.Nathalie Brack is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and at the Institute for European Studies of the Université libre de Bruxelles (Cevipol), Belgium. She is also Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. Her research has been published in JCMS, the Journal of European Integration and the International Political Science Review among others.

• Introduction 1. A Political System Forged by History 2. The Main Theoretical Approaches in EU Studies 3. Executive Power 4. The Legislative Power 5. Organs of Control 6. Other Organs Involved in EU Policy-Making 7. Decision-Making in the European Union 8. EU Decision-Making Models 9. The EU Decision-Making Process from a Public Policy Network Perspective Conclusion

"… Analytically sharp, and backed up by scientific literature, it is highly recommended to readers who want a thorough understanding of how the EU responds to the challenges it faces." - Renaud Dehousse, President, European University Institute, Italy."Olivier Costa and Nathalie Brack’s remarkable book may be the very best place to look for those who need to understand the European Union in all of its complexity..." - George Ross, Université de Montréal, Canada."… The coverage of theories, institutions and policy-making in one volume makes this a highly effective textbook." - Richard Whitaker, Leicester University, UK.