{"product_id":"9781509982851","title":"Informal Decision Making in the European Community under the Luxembourg Compromise The Law That Never Was","description":"\u003ch1\u003eInformal Decision Making in the European Community under the Luxembourg Compromise\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe Law That Never Was\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePhilip Bajon\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaw \/ Legal History\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eRunner-up of the 2026 SLS Margaret Brazier Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book analyses the informal decision making process in the EU against the background of a gradually emerging European legal order. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBased on extensive multi-archival research in the UK, France, Germany, the Benelux countries and in Community institutions, the book  explores the resistance against majority rule under the so-called Luxembourg Compromise of 1966, a European 'soft law' that allowed Member States to invoke 'vital national interests' and to veto legislation.  This 'gentlemen's agreement' was never sanctioned or codified. However, as a 'rule of the game' it had a significant impact on the operations of the EU for several decades and became an integral part of the EU's 'consensus' approach. Its underlying rationale is still alive in the present-day EU. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePresenting a deeply revisionist account of European law and politics, the book  demonstrates how the Luxembourg arrangement served as a compromise between the Treaty text and political reality, as a counterweight to technocratic ideas, and as a bridge between irreconcilable divides over European unification. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt includes case studies  from 1965 - 2000, such as  the 'Eurosclerosis' of the 1970s, British exceptionalism as an EU member, the European revival of the mid-1980s, and intergovernmentalism on the verge of negotiating the Maastricht Treaty. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHighly original in its interdisciplinary, comprehensive and archivally-rooted method, the book interrogates the most important and controversial debates about the past, present and future of the European Union.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePhilip Bajon\u003c\/b\u003e is Senior Lecturer in Law at Aston University, Birmingham, UK.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e16 October 2025\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBloomsbury Academic\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHart Publishing\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9781509982851\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e352\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e23.52\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59578738671756,"sku":"9781509982851","price":121.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/getimage_6c2063df-8921-4118-b8dd-641b468abf80.jpg?v=1789614511","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9781509982851","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}