Drawing on the dominant themes of political science and legal literatu
re to interrogate their images of law and courts, it is suggested that
an instrumentalist image of law is often projected in which law is un
critically constructed as a medium of integration. The article argues
that law as a medium must confront law as an institution which shapes
external attempts at steering but also structures the element of agenc
y possessed by legal actors, including the ECJ. The changing nature of
EU governance is also highlighted, requiring us to provide more adequ
ate accounts of complex relationships between EU law and politics.