Legal advisers working in the institutions of the European Union exercise significant power, but very little is known about their work. Notwithstanding the handful of cases where legal matters find their way into the news, legal advice remains invisible in EU policy making. For more than ten years Päivi Leino-Sandberg was a part of the invisible community of EU legal advisers, and participated in the exercise of their power. In this book, she shares her insights about how law and lawyers work in the EU institutions, and what their role and impact is on EU decisions from within the decision-making structure. She draws on interviews with over sixty EU lawyers and policymakers: legal experts who interpret the Treaties within the Institutions, draft legislation and defend the Institutions before the EU Court. Telling the true stories behind key negotiations, this book explores the interplay and tensions between legal requirements and political ambitions.

‘Given the state of the Union with its constant crises, and the rifts about democracy and the rule of law within it, there is a need for much greater critical scrutiny of the politics of legal expertise in the EU from within - as this book convincingly exposes.’

Susanne K. Schmidt Source: European Law Review

‘The book impresses with the wealth of empirical material, the wealth of detail in the observations, the linking of the explanations with cases that are partly known and partly unknown in legal terms, and a dense writing style. Leino-Sandberg succeeds in presenting the unique role of the legal services of the EU institutions between law and politics in a highly differentiated manner.’

Ruth Weber Source: Europarecht

‘Of particular interest is the analysis of the functions and status of legal services and the professional ethos and self-understanding of legal advisors. The multi-faceted assessment partly strengthens the more general significance and qualitative dimension of the study. The author's characterization, according to which the main goal of the book is descriptive, can therefore be considered unnecessarily reductive. The main focus of the research results is rather on the placement of EU law expertise and expert services as part of the legal and institutional context of the Union. The fact that the placement takes into account the relationship between the legal and political in a variety of ways, also applying a critical perspective, is likely to strengthen the research's interest, especially from a legal perspective.’

Olli Mäenpää Source: Lakimies

‘Leino-Sandberg’s inquiry into the behind-the-scenes dynamics of EU policymaking presents a vivid portrait painted with rigorous affection.’

Marta Morvillo Source: International Journal of Constitutional Law

‘In terms of methodology, given the limited sources, the author had to converse with legal advisers, and with those who work with them. The interviews appear throughout the book and expose, sometimes in brutal terms, the vivacity and the challenges of a legislative lawyer’s role … Despite what the title might suggest, the book is not (only) about the politisation of legal advice in the European Institutions, but rather about the interplay of politics and the (reading of the) law in the EU with the Legal Services at the centre stage, an interplay that explains to a large extent the creation of EU law … To conclude, what emerges from this book is an uncharted perspective on how EU law is brought alive through the work of its legal advisers. While the intricacies of their role might appear enigmatic, the book has the merit of making them accessible to the public. The protagonists of the narrative can rest assured after reading this work that, despite the challenges of their job, what they do matters.’

Sergio Alonso de León Source: European Journal of Risk Regulation

‘To start with, the monograph will be of great interest to all those curious about the dynamics of EU law-making at advanced level: it indeed informs of our understanding of the mechanics of EU law. By taking us on a guided tour to the backstage of EU law-making and litigation procedures, the author revisits a broad range of traditional themes of EU institutional law through the lens of some fundamental questions … This innovative methodological approach to legal studies … is most useful. It allows this (empirical) research to make a significant and immediate contribution to EU institutional law … This book is a must read for EU institutional lawyers as well as for socio-legal scholars hoping for a better understanding of the functioning of the EU.’

Elise Muir Leuven Source: Common Market Law Review