Neill Nugent's book is well established as the leading student text in its field. It has been revised and updated throughout for its third edition with the addition of two new chapters on the Treaty of European Union and the increasingly important issue of External Relations. Having introduced the origins and historical development of the Community, the core of the book provides a detailed analysis of the powers, influence and functioning of its principal institutions and political actors and an analysis of its major policy interests and processes. Review comments on previous editions: '...an excellent book with which it is difficult to find fault.' - West European Politics '...this is by far the best teaching text on the European Community that I have come across.' - David Allen, Journal of Common Market Studies 'Neil Nugent has once again supplied us with a definitive textbook on the institutions and politics of the European Union. However it is much more than this. It is an essential reference book for both the academic and practitioner...[and] a masterful effort at explaining the inexplicable and at making the opaque transparent.' - Chris Lord, Political Studies