The bestselling Penguin Companion to European Unionexplains the ideas, institutions, personalities and policies that have shaped politics at European level since the Second World War. Its interlocking A to Z entries provide clear, definitive and accessible accounts of the history, role, powers and decision-making processes of the European Union - and other international organizations, such the Council of Europe and NATO - as well as the national and international political contexts in which they operate. In this completely new edition, Anthony Teasdale has updated the whole text and added a series of entries on key developments in recent years - including the drafting and aborted ratification of the European Constitution, the new power balance defined by the Lisbon Treaty, and the politics and economics of the eurozone debt crisis. 'Everyone, whether Europhile or Eurosceptic, should read this book.' Professor Vernon Bogdanor, Oxford University and King's College London 'A sparkling addition to the sea of Euro-literature . . . There is much to surprise and amuse, as well as inform.'Financial Times'Required reading . . . It leads us with admirable clarity and lack of techno-jargon through the history, composition and machinery of the EU.' Independent on Sunday 'An indispensable collection of answers to every historical or factual question you could have about the highly complex institution which the British tabloid press manages to demonise into reductive, mendacious simplicity.' Hugo Young, Guardian Fourth edition