Introduction: Understanding the European Union in the 21st century
Résumé
There is often a temptation to analyse the European Union through its crises. However, it is
an analytical limit to consider the European Union only in terms of crises. It also produces
rules on a daily basis that affect the economic and political future of European Member States
without necessarily being the subject of extensive conflict. There is a normality in the political
work of the European Union that must not be forgotten simply because of the focus on history
making events such as Brexit or the debt crisis within the Economic and Monetary Union. For
anyone thinking about a Companion to the European Union, the question of its structure and
special added value immediately arises. The main challenge is precisely how to capture the
normality of the European Union’s politics without neglecting moments of crisis and political
breakdown. This is exactly what we are proposing in this edition.