This volume examines the European Parliament s symbolic, representative and legislative roles and will prove an effective stimulus for understanding an institution that is often misrepresented in the media. Members of the media, together with policy-makers, bankers, academics and business people in many fields will accordingly find the study a most useful reference. While the constitutional role of the Parliament within the system of governance of the EU has advanced markedly, its sociological relevance remains at a low ebb. More generally, it is clear that, despite the widening scale and scope of EU-level powers, the salience of specifically EU politics remains low. From a utilitarian perspective, whatever it is that the European Parliament does, MEPs do not appear to be changing the fundamentals of Europe s security and prosperity. It may no longer be enough for the Parliament to seek to close the democratic deficit in the EU without addressing social change. Indeed, on the hypothesis that European integration is the process of social change, the democratic deficit stems from the failure of the European Parliament (with other EU institutions) to develop social cohesion on a transitional basis. In a brilliant essay, David Coombes challenges the existing notions of what the European Parliament does and how it contributes to European unification. He concludes that it must re-invent itself if it is to contribute effectively to the governance of an emerging post-national society in Europe. Ideal for policy-makers, bankers, academics, business and the media from both within and without the current member states.