Fully updated to include the migrant crisis, the UK's decision to leave the Union, and the state of the Euro currency, this accessible Very Short Introduction shows how and why the EU has developed, how its institutions works, and what it does - from the single market to the Euro, and from agriculture to peace-keeping and the environment.

• Preface


• Abbreviations


• List of boxes


• List of charts


• List of illustrations


• List of maps


• 1: What the EU is for


• 2: How the EU was made


• 3: How the EU is governed


• 4: Single market, single currency


• 5: Agriculture, regions, budget: conflicts over who gets what


• 6: Social policy, environmental policy


• 7: 'An area of freedom, security and justice'


• 8: A great civilian power...and more, or less?


• 9: The EU and the rest of Europe


• 10: The EU in the world


• 11: Much accomplished...but what next?


• References


• Further reading


• Glossary


• Index

Simon Usherwood is Reader in Politics at the University of Surrey, where he specialises in the study of euroscepticism, and in UK-EU relations. As well as publishing widely in these areas, he has also been a frequent contributor to public debate, through the media, social media and numerous public speaking events. Since 2016, he has been a Senior Fellow of the 'UK in a Changing Europe' programme.
John Pinder was Honorary Professor at the College of Europe, and Chairman of the Federal Trust, London. He was the author of The Building of the European Union (Third edition, OUP, 1998).