Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies Collection

Nearly 20 years after it first became an elected institution, it is time to assess the impact of the European Parliament on the process of European integration. This book does so, beginning with an analysis of what integration theorists expected of the directly elected Parliament when such an idea was still on the drawing board and then examining what the Parliament has achieved in practice. It concludes that the Parliament has been extremely significant, though not always in the ways initially expected.