The Lisbon Treaty entered into force on December 1, 2009, after being ratified by all 27 member states of the European Union, and introduced changes to European law and institutions. This publication, by Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, examines the roots of the European project and its development as a legal order, and is a definitive reference work on the subject. The author offers insight into how the European Union is built, its broad principles and the legal order underpinning it, looking at this in relation to the national laws of the member states.--Publisher's description.