This volume assesses the changing nature of the UK's bilateral relations within the EU. The authors argue that effective bilateral relations are vital to effective decisionmaking and that with repeated EU enlargement they are becoming increasingly important. While France and Germany working in tandem have for many years acted as a motor of integration, few other countries have actively sought to build up good bilateral relations on a systematic basis. Since the 1998 'step change initiative' the UK has been trying to do just this. The book shows that the UK has begun to build up long-term bilateral cooperation that will serve as the backdrop to specific bilateral initiatives -particularly in the areas of defense, social policy, and internal security -enabling it to push the process of integration further.