The Intergovernmental Pillars of the European Union

The increasingly sophisticated constitution of the European Union takes account of the fact that different areas of law and policy need to be tackled in different ways - some can be the subject of centralized decision-making, whilst others can only be dealt with at the intergovernmental level. This reality is represented in the European Union's three pillar structure. The best known pillar is the most centralized one - the EC. There are however two intergovernmental pillars - dealing with the common foreign and security policy and cooperation in justice and home affairs - which are becoming increasingly important. In this ground breaking examination of the public international law and Community methods used within the European Union, the author argues that the intergovernmental pillars have created possibilities for cooperation in areas where it would previously have been unthinkable.