The Bluffer's Guide to the EU
By Michael Toner, Christopher White and Lee Rotherham
 
Extracts from the book

 
Brussel sprouts
The mere use of the term 'democratic deficit' will establish you at once as an insider, so you should drop it into the conversation at the first opportunity. What it means is that the bureaucracy in Brussels still wields huge powers while elected politicians suck their thumbs on the sidelines.
 
Consolation prize
In the political life of Europe, becoming a Commissioner is a splendid consolation prize for never quite having made the grade back home. It is the ultimate bluff.
 
Council president
Every six months each member state takes over the chair or the 'presidency' of the Council, in alphabetical order. This enables small nations like Greece and Portugal to demonstrate that they can botch things up just as effectively as the big boys.
 
In triplicate
The euro is like an onion. Peel away one layer of complication and there's another underneath. No wonder it tends to bring tears to the eyes.
 
Powerhouse?
The boast of the European Commission is that it is the engine-room of the Union. However, you can wander all day round the depressingly ugly Breydel building in Brussels - headquarters of the Commission - and never see anybody who looks remotely like a stoker.
 
Reviews

 
The Bluffer's Guide to the EU conceals a formidable amount of scholarship beneath a froth of whimsy.
The Sunday Express
 
A book full of subtle humour and most useful information.
The Sunday Independent
 
Table of Contents
 

The Basics
Members
Loads of People
Dates to Remember

Institutions of the EU
The Commission
The Oath
The European Parliament
The Council of Ministers
The European Court
The Court of Auditors
The Committee of the Regions

The European Money Tree
The Common Agricultural Policy
Frauds and Fiddles
The Common Fisheries Policy

Great Names
Charlemagne
Charles de Gaulle
Jacques Delors
Walter Hallstein
Sir Edward Heath
Sicco Mansholt
Jean Monnet
Jacques Santer
Robert Schuman
Paul-Henri Spaak
Altiero Spinelli
Margaret Thatcher
Cities of the Union
Luxembourg
Strasbourg
Brussels

Political Parties
The Right
The Left
The Others

The Single Market
The Maastricht Treaties
The Amsterdam Treaty
The Schengen Agreement
The Democratic Deficit
Policy Predicaments

Facing the Experts
The Official
The Politician
The Consultant
How to be a Federalist...or a Sceptic

Glossary

 
Author: Michael Toner, Christopher White and Lee Rotherham
Format: 64 pages, pb
Published: 01/03/99
CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT
Price: £3.99
ISBN-10 & ISBN-13: 1-902825-11-X
  
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Table of contents
  
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