Routledge/UACES Contemporary European Studies

'The committees of the European Parliament are highly influential in shaping EU legislation. Yet scholarly knowledge of how they function has remained limited until now. Theoretically informed and methodologically sophisticated, Whitaker's excellent study explains the development of the EP committee system, paying special attention to how national parties and MEPs use committees for advancing their policy goals. Absolutely essential reading for students of EU policy-making and parliaments.' - Professor Tapio Raunio, University of Tampere, Finland 'In this first ever book-length treatment of the subject, Richard Whitaker provides the definitive account of how and why the European Parliament's committees matter both to the role of the members of the European Parliament and, more importantly, to their national party leaders. To understand the committees is to understand the parliament.' - Professor David Farrell, University College Dublin 'This is the most important book thus far on what happens inside the European Parliament's committees, which is where much of the legislative business of Brussels now takes place. Using innovative theoretical ideas and empirical techniques as well as new data, Whitaker finds that national parties are the key players inside the committees. This finding reinforces a particular conception of how EU politics works.' - Professor Simon Hix, London School of Economics and Political Science