A comprehensive book to study and understand the European Union, which takes theorist approaches to each policy area into account in order to help understanding the system. Includes also clear examples about the development of the European Integration and also illustrates the current inefficiencies and problems of the Union. However, a bit outdated since the latest version has been published in 2005 and the effects of the Lisbon treaty and the first effort of a constitution are only slightly speculated. An updated version with the newest information for example about the current influences of the European parliament is most likely to be a perfect handbook.