The European Union and National Industrial Policy

Although the implications of European Union membership have been the subject of intense political debate throughout the member states, the actual impact of the EU action on those states remain under researched. The lack of empirical investigation has meant that it has not been possible to arrive at any informed judgement about how the EU has affected traditional policy making in the member states or to evaluate competing claims. European Union and National Industrial Policynvestigates the extent to which action at the EU level in a range of industrial and financial service factors has affected the substance of national policy and the behavior of and relationships between, national actors. It looks at the policies pursued by the four larger member states in these areas, discussing the initiatives launched by the EU and assessing the Union's impact on national policy, compared with other internal and external factors.