Local Government in the EU: Impact, Response, Mobilisation

Local authorities across the EU have become interlocked in a supranational polity that exceeds the borders of the nation state. Cities, counties and municipalities take a central role in the delivery of European legislation and policies concerning a wide range of areas including the European Single Market, social and regional cohesion, economic growth, unemployment, social innovation, demographic change, the environment, climate change, energy supply, consumer protection, anti-discrimination rights etc. The interaction between local and European actors has fostered the development of a compound polity that is commonly referred to as multilevel governance. This paper starts with an analysis of the constitutional status of local government in European Treaties, particularly with regard to local self-government, subsidiarity and multilevel governance. Though the EU’s ‘partial’ or ‘complementary’ constitution reaches deep into the politico-administrative structures of the Member States, national governments still control local government and their ability to participate effectively in European affairs. The paper then continues to examine the top-down impact of EU law and policies on local authorities, the responses towards by and within local government, as well as means of formal and informal mobilisation through which local authorities engage with EU policies. This will enhance our understanding of local government within supranational organisations and the on-going transformation of Europe’s multilevel compound. This paper also provides a brief comment on local government in the light of Brexit, as the UK’s departure from the EU will not only provide a unique occasion to understand European integration from a national perspective but it is also an opportunity to evaluate the status and relations of local government within the EU. British local government, like that in other Member States, has become interlocked in the EU’s multilevel system and disentangling this relationship will not only be challenging for the UK Government but also for local authorities.