Introduction--- Theories of european integration--- The Rome treaty and its original agenda (1957-1975)--- From euro-pessimism to renewed euro-optimism (1975-1989)--- European Union in the 1990s--- Institutional dynamics in the European--- Economic and Monetary Union--- The common agricultural policy--- Cohesion, environmetal, and industrial policies--- External economic relations of the European Union--- Common foreign and domestic security policies--- Conclusion