EU decision-making requires that member states cooperate. In this European Policy Analysis, four political scientists at the University of Gothenburg analyse the patterns for cooperative relations between the member states in the Council of the EU. The authors also test different explanations for why some pairs of states form closer relations. (2023:15 epa)

Infringement cases at the Court of Justice of the EU are thought to be simple affairs; easy for the European Commission to win. In this European Policy Analysis Markus Johansson and Olof Larsson of the University of Gothenburg show that things are not quite so straightforward: member states are defending – and winning – such cases more often than was previously thought. (2022:18epa)

The European Court of Justice plays a central role in the EU, but its importance as a political arena for conflicts regarding how to interpret the EU´s legislation is less known. In this report, based on unique material, the authors analyse how the Member States position themselves within the framework of preliminary Court rulings.