Im Mittelpunkt der Beiträge steht der Integrationsprozeß der EU. Nach einem dokumentierenden Beitrag (Kapitel I) werden die rechtlichen, ökonomischen und politischen Aspekte der europäischen Integration aus der Sicht der größeren Mitgliedstaaten und Irlands erörtert (II) sowie einzelne Politikbereiche der EU wie die Nutzung der Strukturfonds näher beleuchtet (III). In Kapitel IV stehen die Entwicklungsperspektiven der mittel- und osteuropäischen Reformstaaten zur Debatte. Inhalt: Joachim Jens Hesse / Theo A. J. Toonen: Preface (1-4). I. Major Developments within the European Union: Jos De La Haye / Jos C. N. Raadschelders: For the Last Time with Twelve. The European Union in 1994: A Review (7-45). II. At the Crossroads: The Intergovernmental Conference 1996/97: Jacques Santer: Reinforcing Political Union and Preparing for Enlargement (50-56); Dieter Grimm: Treaty or Constitution: The Legal Foundations of the European Union in the Maastricht II Reform Process (57-90); Fritz W. Scharpf: Democratic Policy in Europe (91-114); Reimut Jochimsen: Economic and Monetary Union: Demands for Maastricht II (115-147); Joachim Jens Hesse: Institutioneller Wandel in Europa als Bestandssicherung und Konsolidierung (149-174); Brigid Laffan: The Intergovernmental Conference from an Irish Perspective (175-188); Martin Schaad: Preparing for the Intergovernmental Conference 1996 – The Reflection Group Report Revisited (189-204). III. European Developments: Analytical Issues and Empirical Evidence in Comparative Perspective: Arend Lijphart: Democracies: Forms, Performance, and Constitutional Engineering (208-224); Johan P. Olsen: The Changing Political Organization of Europe: An Institutional Perspective on the Role of Comprehensive Reform Efforts (225-250); Tore Hansen: The Regional Basis of EU-Resistance: Why the Norwegians said "No" (251-267); Peter Bogason: Changes in Local Government in Scandinavia: Towards Organizational Differentiation? (269-289); Richard Murray: Productivity in the Public Sector: The Swedish Experience (291-315); Frank Hendricks: Democratic Institutions and the Mobilisation of Bias: Comparing Urban Policies (317-339); Filip De Rynck / Stefaan De Rynck: The Implementation of Structural Funds Programmes in the Flemish Region (341-360); Guy Carcassonne: Mitterrand, Chirac et la Constitution de la France (361-392). IV. Institution-Building and Constitutional Developments in Central and Eastern Europe: Tony Verheijen: System Transformation and the Role of Constitutions: A Comparative Analysis of Central and Eastern European Countries (395-417); Attila Ágh: Democratization and Modernization: Institution-building in Hungary (1988-1996) (419-446); Ewa Letowska: Preparing Polands's Legal System for the EU-Membership (447-464); Maria Kruk: The Long Haul: Constitution-building in Poland (465-474); Olga Vidláková: Status and Outlines of Public Administration Reform in the Czech Republic (475-498).