11 Conclusion

Abstract

The EU is extraordinary, complex and—in important respects—unique. This concluding chapter revisits three key themes that guide understanding of the EU: experimentation and change; power sharing and consensus; and scope and capacity. It also returns to the question: how can we best explain the EU and how it works? The chapter reviews leading theoretical approaches and identifies what each approach claims is most important to explain about the EU, and why. Finally, the chapter confronts the question: ‘Where do we go from here’? Does knowing how the EU works give us clues about how it might work in the future?