Just as feminist scholars have begun to develop an analysis of "the state" and women in Europe have gained access to its political, legal and bureaucratic arenas, increased attention and reliance on European institutions have begun to take precedence over the more parochial concerns of the nation state. With the creation of the European super-state, feminist scholars will have to enhance their understanding of the European Union while activists will increasingly focus their efforts upon its institutions.

This is the first book to transcend the emphasis on economics, the conventional basis for EU public-policy discussions, thus providing a basis upon which one can begin to assess the politics of European integration from a feminist perspective.