For fifty years France has been an active partner in the process of European integration. The outcome - the institutional architecture of the European Union - is a unique structure with a complex decision-making process. All the member states have conse-quently had to devise new procedures to work with the European Union institutions in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.

This book explains how the EU institutions are organised and how they operate. It describes how the structures and working methods of the French government have been adapted to respond to the demands of EU membership. Topics discussed include interministerial co-ordination, the involvement of the national Parliament in the negotiations leading up to EU legislation, the transposition of EU directives into national law, the application of EU law by the national courts, and the training of officials in EU affairs.