This publication examines the Amsterdam Treaty negotiated by the Intergovernmental Conference 1996-1997. It looks at the preferences of the main actors, the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament, as well as the negotiation process that produced the Treaty. The book includes chapters on each of the main actors as well as the most important substantive issues: the changes in the Union's first pillar, mainly in respect to environment and employment policies, changes in the second pillar, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the creation of a new Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, as well as the introduction of new provisions on "closer cooperation" or flexibility. Concluding chapters seek to confront the Treaty reform process with leading integration theories.