In the brilliantly conceived conference from which this book derives, outstanding European legal authorities were brought together to see if they could capture the multi-layered nature of the European project as it has actually developed, and in the process discover a framework that might further Europe s continuing commitment to market integration, to the task of harmonizing laws while giving due place to Member State autonomy, and to the growth of participatory democracy. The disparate and shifting set of considerations that make up this rich view of Community law manifests the emphasis that pallas Consortium imparts to its teaching and to the research its has spawned.