The essays which appear in this work are based on papers presented at a two-day conference held in Liverpool in July 2007 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community. The collection reflects critically upon some of the EU's core characteristics and speculates imaginatively on the diverse challenges that will face the EU in the future. By exploring the pressing contemporary problems in Europe and by throwing light on the big questions which will define the EU's identity in the medium term, the essays also draw out links with, and threats to, the historical achievements of European integration. These essays will be essential reading for any scholar or practitioner interested in the nature of the constitutional relationship between the Union and its Member States, and the tensions between economic and social policy objectives.