Casting a wide net with nearly twenty contributing authors, The EU Reexamined takes an interdisciplinary approach to weighing the experience of the European Union (EU) in bringing multiple sovereign nations under a common economic umbrella—examining whether the EU can serve as a blueprint for other regions that strive for economic integration or whether the EU is a one-off not to be replicated. The editors are Jörn Axel Kämmerer, Professor of Public Law, EU Law, and Public International Law, Bucerius Law School; Hans-Bernd Schäfer, Affiliate Professor, Bucerius Law School Hamburg, Professor of Law and Economics, University of Hamburg, and former Director of the Institute of Law and Economics, Germany; and Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics, and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies, Cornell University, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank.

The book draws on contemporary and historical law and politics as well as economic analyses explored by scholars from countries both in and outside of the EU. It provides a full inventory of the political and economic benefits of EU membership, critically assessing the euro’s monetary integration and the paths followed in the wake of global financial crises. The chapters make comparisons between the EU and other integration models, between EU members and non-EU members, and between euro and non-euro EU Member States.

One example is the chapter “The Primacy of EU Law Over National Law: EU Law Sets Aside National Law” by Vassilios Skouris, Affiliate Professor, Bucerius Law School, and former President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Skouris provides a reminder of how the treaties forming the EU have never expressly stated the primacy of EU law over national law. Such primacy was established by the CJEU in its decisions dating back to 1964, starting with Costa/ENEL. The recurring theme of the book is the continuing evolution of EU law as the EU expands in size by all measures and deepens its competencies. European constitutional courts continually address challenges to the primacy of EU law as the courts seek to reconcile national action with EU law, particularly in new areas such as monetary policy and social media privacy. The CJEU in more recent case law has had to remind national courts that they are to enforce EU law, even if it means striking down national laws that conflict with those of the EU.

Readers of this book will be at a loss if they do not already have a foundational understanding of the EU and its laws, institutions, and the roles of Member States. For readers possessing such a foundation, the book is a concise update of the EU structure. The book embraces a range of disciplines, reflecting the thoughts of the contributors, thus benefiting readers of law, economics, and politics. This book may also be of interest to policymakers around the world who interact with EU countries and those who may be contemplating similar forms of economic and monetary integration in their regions.