Since the 2013 publication of the third edition of this book there have been numerous developments in European Union (EU) law. Following from these developments I have extensively revised all chapters and added entirely new sections to some of them. Further, bearing in mind the importance that has been acquired by the principle of indirect effect of EU law a new chapter has been introduced to deal exclusively with this topic. However, the purpose of the book has not changed – as always I wish to provide my readers with a serious, comprehensive, up to date work, which is engaging and, at the same time, easily readable. I hope that my formula of combining a textbook with a case book makes EU law come to life.

自2013年本书第三版出版以来，欧盟（EU）法律有了许多发展。根据这些进展，我对所有章节进行了广泛的修订，并在其中一些章节中添加了全新的章节。此外，考虑到欧盟法律的间接效力原则所具有的重要性，引入了专门处理这一问题的新一章。然而，这本书的目的并没有改变——我希望一如既往地为我的读者提供一本严肃、全面、最新的作品，它既引人入胜，同时又易读易懂。我希望我的教科书和案例书相结合的模式能使欧盟法律变得有生命力。