Abstract: This book is the second of two volumes in which leading scholars examine the way in which European Union (EU) member states co-ordinate their European policies, and investigates the structures, institutions and processes put in place by national governments in Brussels. The companion volume, published in 2000, examines the national co-ordination of EU policy at the domestic level. This second book offers a comprehensive, comparative analysis of national co-ordination at the European level. It investigates the way in which eleven member states—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—co-ordinate their European policy in Brussels. It examines their co-ordination ambitions, the value attached to co-ordination and their conception of it, and the strategies adopted by the member states for defining and defending a national position in EU policy-making. It looks in detail at the organization and operation of the permanent representations—the principal institution charged by governments with safeguarding the ‘national interest’ in Brussels—and at how, to what extent (indeed, whether) they succeed in reconciling their responsibilities as both agencies of the national government and part of the EU decision-making system. The book assesses the effectiveness of the various national arrangements in achieving their intended goals, and identifies the factors that influence or determine performance at the European level. The institutions, structures, and processes utilized by the member states in Brussels are compared with a view to discovering whether there is evidence of convergence around a common model or whether national differences persist. All of the chapters except for the Conclusion are extensively revised versions of papers presented at a workshop, held at Nuffield College, Oxford, on 13–14 May 1999.

Keywords: Austria, Belgium, convergence, EU policy, European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, national co-ordination, Portugal, United Kingdom, Brussels, differences, EU policy co-ordination, institutions, Ireland, member states, national arrangements, national policy, Netherlands, permanent representations, processes, structures, Sweden