France in the European Union is centred around two major themes: the ambivalent attitude of Presidents, Ministers, political parties, interest groups and sections of the public towards European Integration, and the complexity of the adaptation processes in many policy sectors which have become necessary as a consequence of EU membership. Although French inputs have considerably influenced European institutions and policies, the impact of those policies and the new policy processes of the EU have also played a major role in transforming many aspects of French politics and economics.

This innovative new text provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the study of European integration, focusing centrally on explaining the differentiated character of the European Union in terms of policy areas, institutional development and geographical span.

Starting from the observation that the European Union now possesses many of the attributes of modern political systems, Hix and Høyland take an innovative approach to analysing, researching and teaching the EU. Using the general theories of political science to understand how the EU works, this text covers each of the main processes in the EU political system - executive, legislative and judicial politics, public opinion, interest groups and democracy, and regulatory, monetary and foreign policies - introducing the key political science tools, reviewing the relevant theories, and applying...