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Although the European union did not come into existence until the 1990s it had been evolving for over forty years. This evolution was within the context of the process of Western European integration that began to unfold since World War 2. Nugent argues that full understanding of the European Union can only be gained if it is firmly placed within the context of various dimensions of the European integration process. The 2 volumes take a broad approach, with a considerable body of wrtings having been considered for inclusion, with most of the selections for the volumes having been first pubished in academic journals. Volume I on European integration is concerned to reflect the increased importance of the integration process since the relaunch of the European Community in the mid 1980s with the 1985 Single European Market programme and the 1986 Single European Act. Subjects covered include: the attempt since the late 1980s to move towards the creation of an Economic and Monetary Union with a single currency; the enlargements of the EC/EU which saw the membership increase from ten to twelve in 1986, when Portugal and Spain joined, and from twelve to fifteen in 1995 when Austria, Sweden, and Finland joined together; and the apparent movement towards an increasingly mulit-speed and layered Europe. Volume II is focused on European Union policy processes. Articles included cover such subjects as domestic politics and European Community policy making; issue linkage in the European Community; and agenda setting in the European Community.