The European Commission is arguably the world's most powerful international administration. It plays a central role in the political system of the European Union. The Commission is a permanent presence in the life of the member states, but its influence is felt far beyond their borders. Viewed historically as the motor of European integration, the Commission is the subject of intense controversy. It is portrayed frequently as technocratic, monolithic, and unaccountable, but also as fragmented and weakly led. According to accepted wisdom, it is populated by career bureaucrats, who want only to expand the competencies of the Union and therefore their own power. This book tests these views. It asks: Who are the people who work for the organization? What are their educational and professional backgrounds? What do officials believe about the role of the Commission in the EU today and whether the Union should have more or less power? What leads them to choose to pursue a career in the Commission, and how do they navigate its complexities? How does the Barroso Commission compare to previous Commissions? How harmonious are relations between cabinets and the services? What has been the impact on the Commission of reform and of the 'big bang' enlargement? Co-authored by an international team of researchers, this book draws on original data from the largest attitudinal survey ever conducted by independent researchers inside the Commission, as well as a structured programme of interviews with senior officials. It provides an authoritative account of the European Commission of the twenty-first century.

The European Union in the Twenty-First Century: Major Political, Economic and Security Policy Trends unpacks some of the most prominent issues faced by the EU over the last two decades and considers how they may shape its future, as well as the future of international politics.

"Papers presented in the 2003 WG Hart Workshop, which took place at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London."--Foreword.

This book is based on contributions made to the WG Hart Workshop 2003. It contains articles by leading experts seeking to assess the state of development of EU law some fifty years after the establishment of the Communities and to contribute to the current debate on the European Constitution. The first volume concentrates on the themes of European Constitutionalism and EU external relations. It analyses the proposed Constitution dealing, among others, with the division of competence between the EU and the Member States, Community legislation, the role of national parliaments, democracy in the EU, human rights, and the Court of Justice. It also contains articles on EU external relations covering, among others, enlargement, the common foreign and security policy, immigration and asylum policy, and the relations between the EU and the WTO.

European Integration in the Twenty-First Century provides a comprehensive overview of the many dimensions and challenges to the on-going European integration project. It employs a number of interdisciplinary perspectives to review processes of both unity and disunity providing the reader with a complete snapshot of contemporary European integration in its variety of settings.

‘Globalization, the Human Condition and Sustainable Development in the Twenty-first Century: Cross-national Perspectives and European Implications’ is a cross-national, 175-nation-based exploration of the deep crisis in which Europe currently finds itself. Investigating the effects of dependency theory and world-systems theory upon the global success of eight dimensions of development – including democracy, environmental sustainability, employment, social cohesion, high-quality tertiary education and gender justice – this study argues that the current European crisis has been precipitated by the pro-globalist policies of the European Commission, and that in the near future these policies threaten to enter Europe into a destructive ‘race to the bottom’.

'This book is recommended for anyone wanting to quickly get up to speed with oceans governance, bearing in mind at this stage it is an immature and quickly developing field. The strength of the book is that it is grounded in real-world examples from four case study countries and in this context at the very least exposes the reader to emergent oceans governance and policy issues. . . an excellent starting point for further analysis of oceans governance and sets up a research agenda for the future.' - Murray Patterson, Journal of Ecological Economics

This book provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of Eastern Christian churches in Europe, the Middle East, America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Written by leading international scholars in the field, it examines both Orthodox and Oriental churches from the end of the Cold War up to the present day. The book offers a unique insight into the myriad church-state relations in Eastern Christianity and tackles contemporary concerns, opportunities and challenges, such as religious revival after the fall of communism; churches and democracy; relations between Orthodox, Catholic and Greek Catholic churches; religious education and monastic life; the size and structure of congregations; and the impact of migration, secularisation and globalisation on Eastern Christianity in the twenty-first century.

Media policy issues sit at the heart of the structure and functioning of media systems in Europe and beyond. This book brings together the work of a range of leading media policy scholars to provide inroads to a better understanding of how effective media policies can be developed to ensure a healthy communication sector that contributes to the wellbeing of individual citizens, as well as a more democratic society. Faced with a general atmosphere of disillusionment in the European project, one of the core questions tackled by the volume’s contributors is: what scope is there for European media policy that can exist beyond the national level? Uniquely, the volume’s chapters are structured around four key policy themes: media convergence; the continued role and position of public regulatory intervention in media policy; policy issues arising from the development of new electronic communication network environments; and lessons for European media policy from cases beyond the EU. In its chapters, the volume provides enriched understandings of the role and significance of policy actors, institutions, structures, instruments and processes in communication and media policy.

This book explores the type of leadership needed to transform EU Institutions to allow them to truly serve Europe’s people. Our world today calls for leaders who are connected to themselves, know how to unleash the potential of others and build organisations that serve people’s needs, and are stewards of society. The path towards transformation is not just about learning another trick or method, it is an inward journey each of us must undertake. We search to first recognise our best self and then give ourselves to lead our lives in service of a bigger purpose. The prioritising of serving others leads to a conscious choice of one aspiring to lead. In turn, others will experience this inspiration at all levels, learning to lead as servants. This timeless concept is what Robert Greenleaf referred to when he coined the term “servant-leadership” in 1970. This book not only gives insights into the servant-leadership philosophy, but also offers real-life interviews with twelve EU civil servants, including Herman van Rompuy, former President of the European Council. Their stories illustrate that servant-leadership is manifesting inside EU institutions already, independent of background and function level. Servant-leadership offers a unique opportunity to empower EU professionals in facing the challenges of the 21st century and helping the EU to serve its citizens better.