The European Commission and the Integration of Europe

'Liesbet Hooghe's book is a significant contribution to both the literatures on European integration and comparative public administration. It is an extremely well-researched study of the inclinations exhibited by top officials of the European Commission. The Commission provides a challenging and fascinating research subject … the book is both unique and interesting … Hooghe's sophisticated study relies on the skilful use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques … yields some very interesting results … Hooghe's study is written engagingly. Her clever use of extracts from interview notes makes this book enjoyable to read. The extracts provide a meaningful sense of the context and lead to a more complete understanding of the 'world view' of officials … this is an impressive book that deserves to be read both by EU specialists and those interested in the study of public administration in the European context.' Dionyssis G. Dimitrakopoulos, University of London
'… nicely and clearly presented … rigorous … Liesbet Hooghe has produced an excellent book on the preferences of top EC officials, with several great merits … the empirical results contribute greatly to a better understanding of the EU's functioning. Finally, the straightforward structure and informative character makes the work extremely useful for teaching how to take on an empirical research project related to the EU: the introductory parts on preference formation and operationalisation of the research are very clearly written and reveal the rigorously elaborated design of Hooghe's research … rich and testifies to great scholarship; the conclusions are enlightening … an outstanding example of empirical research on European integration. Above all, it is highly recommended to scholars embarking on empirical challenges not only in EU studies but in comparative politics in general.' Journal of International Relations and Development