This major new text on EU policy-making provides a concise but systematic introduction to the main policy areas in which the EU is active and the way in which EU policy is made, explaining how and why the EU's policy portfolio has developed as it has and the distinctive characteristics of each broad policy area.

Introduction.- The Policy Portfolio.- Understanding the Policy Portfolio.- The Principal Policy Institutions.- Other Important Policy Actors.- Key Features of Policy Processes.- The Policy Cycle.- Policy-Making Modes.- The Internal Market.- Building a Socio-Economic Union: Agriculture, Cohesion, Environment, and Growth Policies.- Economic and Monetary Union.- The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.- Trade Policy.- Foreign and External Security Policy.- The Budget.- Challenges and Prospects.

'An excellent treatment of policy processes from a 'big picture' viewpoint. Accessible but sophisticated, I particularly recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding the how and why of the European Union's distinctive policy reach, the crucial role and logic of economic integration, and the impact of the eurozone crisis.' - Alberta Sbragia, University of Pittsburgh, USA 'A comprehensive guide to the complex maze of public policy in a hybrid political system, its evolution over time, and the theoretical tools needed to make sense of it. It will be most valuable to anyone trying to understand the European project as it tries to respond to the most severe crisis in its history.' - Renaud Dehousse, Sciences Po, Paris, France 'Despite the explosion of literature on the European Union, there are surprisingly few good full-length surveys of its policies and policy processes. Happily, Buonanno and Nugent have come to the rescue. This excellent text examines the dynamics of EU policy and each of the core areas of policy in which the EU is active, offering a much-needed contribution which will be welcomed by scholars and students alike.' - John McCormick, Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA. 'Thorough and authoritative, and based on a considerable body of knowledge and understanding, this book deserves to become a core text on EU policies and policy-making. A central and innovative contribution is to show that the EU is less different from other political formations than is often assumed. And with the EU in flux, it offers a compass to contextualize the processes of change.' - Wyn Grant, University of Warwick, UK

A comprehensive guide to the complex maze of public policy in a hybrid political system, its evolution over time, and the theoretical tools needed to make sense of it. It will be a most valuable to anyone trying to understand the European project as it tries to respond to the most severe crisis in its history.' - Renaud Dehousse, Sciences Po, Paris 'Despite the explosion of literature on the European Union, there are surprisingly few good full-length surveys of its policies and policy processes. Happily, Buonanno and Nugent have come to the rescue. This excellent text examines the dynamics of EU policy and each of the core areas of policy in which the EU is active, offering a much-needed contribution which will be welcomed by scholars and students alike.' - John McCormick, Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA 'Thorough and authoritative, and based on a considerable body of knowledge and understanding, this book deserves to become a core text on EU policies and policy-making. A central and innovative contribution is to show that the EU is less different from other political formations than is often assumed. And with the EU in flux, it offers a compass to contextualize the processes of change.' - Wyn Grant, University of Warwick, UK 'The EU series is in a class of its own. For high quality analysis by well qualified authors, its range of coverage and sense of cohesion give it a huge edge over other publishers' offerings.' - Jolyon Howorth, Yale University, USA