The European ambition : the group of the European People’s Party and European integration

The book is the outcome of a research project tendered by the European People’s Party Group, coordinated by the Alcide de Gasperi Research Centre (EUI), and carried out by an interdisciplinary and transnational team of scholars.This book traces the EPP Group's institutional, organisational and political trajectory in the European Parliament, focusing on the period after the first direct elections in 1979. In doing so, it sheds light on the functioning of parliamentary party groups, while at the same time creating the conditions for a better understanding of their role in the process of European integration and in the EU's political system. Based on the conceptual framework of different disciplines--history, political science, European studies and political sociology--this book is the outcome of a research project involving scholars with diverse academic backgrounds and from different EU countries.-- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Shaping institutions and policies: The EPP Group in the European Communities -- Chapter 2. Constitutionalising the Union: The Role of the EPP Group -- Chapter 3. Co-Shaping the Internal Market: The EPP Group and EU Internal Policies -- Chapter 4. Values, Strategies, Actions: The EPP Group and EU External Relations -- Chapter 5. The Heart of the Core: The EPP Group in the EU Institutional and Political Framework -- The Authors -- General Appendix -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Index of Name