Surveying the European Union's evolution from the Rome Treaty to the present, captures the full story of Europe's ongoing integration, its changing identity, and its increasing importance as a global actor in the 21 Century. This text's concise but comprehensive overview of the history, institutions, and policies of the European Union lays out the major elements of the European integration and explain how the European Union functions. Emphasizing competing intergovernmental and supranational forces, explains the origins and future of the European Union as well as its political uniqueness.