"This extensively revised and updated new edition of The European Parliament provides broad-ranging coverage of the structures and functioning of the European Parliament. A guiding assumption throughout is that the Parliament needs to be understood both as a legislature and as part of the wider system of EU governance. The authors assess and contribute to the debates surrounding democracy, legitimacy and parliamentarization in the European Union. Using recent case studies they examine how the European Parliament works - through its rules, procedures, internal leadership and committee structures - and how it exercises influence through both its formal powers and its informal interactions with other institutions and actors in the EU policy-making process."--Book cover.