Handbook on the European Union [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION It gives me great pleasure to recommend this second English edition ofthe Handbook on the European Union by Zoltán Horváth. This clearly-structured, informative, technical and eminently readable work is one of the most popular titles on the EU in Hungary, and has become a key textbook at several universities and colleges. The Handbook has reached its sixth edition in Hungarian, and tens of thousands of copies have been published, helping civil servants, public officials, entrepreneurs, students to prepare for Hungary's smooth entry into the European Union. The fifth edition was also translated into English and Slovak with the help ofthe European Commission. This sixth edition, whose text was completed in June 2005, is being published simultaneously in Hungarian, English and French, which must be an unprecedented feat for a specialised volume on the EU. The English edition should enable the Handbook to reach a wide audience inside and outside the Union. This is particularly important because the Handbook's enormous stock of knowledge is not only useful but essential for any present and future Union citizen seeking to make conscious decisions on EU-related matters. Economic and legal experts, civil servants and businessmen would be well advised to keep a copy ofthe Handbook within reach on their desk. It is also a useful volume for students as well as their teachers, whatever their field of specialisation, as European integration encompasses all areas of life. The Handbook should be particularly helpful for citizens of new and future EU Member States due to its special focus on enlargement, which includes analyses ofthe key elements required for successful accession and explains how to make the most of EU membership. The European Union is often accused of being an opaque, bureaucratic organisation. I am convinced that those who want to learn more about the European Union (its 17