This text claims that the beliefs behind symbolic agreements provide a greater understanding of European integration than a focus on the material motivations of agreements of substance. The book argues that intergovermental co-operation amongst EC states in the immediate post-Cold War period was due to the agreement of symbolic, yet insubstantial new policy areas. It also suggests that ten years after the Cold War in Europe these symbolic agreements are becoming more substantial, thus moving the focus away from material gains and towards subjective beliefs.