With the arguments about security policy and national sovereignty that have dominated the Nice Treaty referendum debate, it is tempting to lose sight of the treaty itself. It is, of course, legitimate to use the opportunity provided by the referendum to debate the broader questions surrounding Ireland's relationship with Europe.
And many of the changes proposed in the treaty are so complicated and unfamiliar, concerning such matters as vote re-weighting and the extension of qualified majority voting, that voters can be forgiven for preferring to ignore them. The institutional reforms agreed at Nice are, however, substantial and could have far-reaching consequences for the way decisions are made in the EU. And in the heightened atmosphere of any debate on Irish neutrality, it is worth examining what the treaty actually says about security policy.
This report on the treaty by the Institute for European Affairs offers a comprehensive analysis of its key elements and places the agreement within the context of recent developments in the EU. Most of the contributors are academics who specialise in European affairs but they are mostly successful in avoiding the impenetrable jargon that EU experts usually slide into.
Brigid Laffan provides an engaging account of the bickering among EU leaders that led to so many ill-tempered compromises at Nice. She points out that, although European governments have shown great vigour in pursuing economic integration, they have been more hesitant in dealing with the political and constitutional dimensions of European integration.
Five chapters on the institutional changes agreed at Nice are comprehensive and illuminating, not least because they highlight the number of questions that remain open.
Paul Gillespie examines one of the most open questions of all - how the concept of enhanced co-operation or flexibility will function, particularly after enlargement. He acknowledges the danger that a two-tier Europe could emerge, constructing a boundary around an inner, integrated core of member-states. But he outlines an alternative outcome, under which different groups of member-states would co-operate on various issues, but the groups would overlap and be balanced by strong, central institutions.
The keen interest shown in security matters during the referendum debate suggests that many readers will turn first to Jill Donoghue's analysis of Europe's evolving security and defence policy. The treaty itself has little to say on security policy and mostly involves giving treaty status to changes that have already occurred.
Ms Donoghue acknowledges, however, that the EU's security identity has developed rapidly since the Amsterdam Treaty was agreed four years ago. Whether these developments are desirable or not, the current debate on them is welcome. This book represents a valuable contribution to that debate and a useful guide for anyone seeking a closer understanding of the issues at stake.
Denis Staunton is European Correspondent of The Irish Times