In person icon Europeanization at the subnational level: chances and challenges

Abstract

The sub-national level in the EU is often seen as pioneering for Europeanization processes. Regions and cities can be well-suited entities to try out Europeanization on a small scale. Via activities such as town twinning and policy-related projects, a dense network of contacts and interactions emerges at the subnational level, which can be captured by the sociological concept of "horizontal Europeanization". Especially in border regions Europeanization has fallen on fruitful grounds, since cross-border exchanges have been additionally stimulated by the new legal and political framework the EU provided. Nevertheless, asymmetries between regions and cities can lead to competition and push and pull factors can result in an uneven distribution of funds or immigration or brain-drain. Many funded projects are not designed for long-term cooperation and run the risk of being limited to symbolic actions. On part of the administration, cooperation can cause substantial effort and might lead to a "clash of bureaucracy". On the citizens' side, language barriers and socio-economic factors are still major barriers for cross-border activities. Perceptions of inequalities can lead to dissatisfaction, hostility and low trust through cross-border activities, if these programs and activities are not accompanied by appropriate measures. Besides, loosening borders requires long-term approaches in order not to overwhelm stakeholders and reignite old conflicts. Our panel aims to take stock of current research on horizontal Europeanization at the sub-national level. It is concerned with issues of horizontal Europeanization at the local or regional level, reporting from a top-down perspective (policy programmes and funding) and a bottom-up perspective (activities and interactions of citizens, civil society actors). Moreover, our panel widens the geographical scope by focusing on CEE countries and Southern European countries which can be identified as "blind spots" in scholarship on horizontal Europeanisation.

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