Cities, Regions and the Changed Agenda of the EU: From Regional Lobbying to Shared Governance

In the 1990s many regions within the European Union embraced the concept of a Europe of the Regions. The absence of a clear definition of such an Europe and of the challenges involved for the regions (and cities), was not an obstacle for this concept to emerge and to obtain visionary proportions. By the beginning of the new millennium, the ‘hype’ associated with Europe of the Regions had faded. Whatever images did exist of the concept, is seemed that none of them had actually materialized. Since the beginning of the new millennium the EU has gone through a period of profound changes. The term New Europe comprises the new dynamics of European integration since 2004. These dynamics include an enlarged and more heterogeneous Europe, but also an EU with a revised institutional set-up and a different socio-economic context given the fiscal crisis and its aftermath. Regions and cities became part of the European reality and are one of the many actors in the game of European multilevel politics. They have earned their place within the institutional structure of the EU and do not find themselves in a ‘privileged’ position as was envisioned in the Europe of the Regions. And now the European Commission is attempting to modernize its regional policy, but also changes its focus on EU-policy in general. Recently we have seen significant changes in the agenda-setting of the European Commission. The focus shifted to priorities that encompass big issues on a global scale. The European Union and the member states indicate that the role of cities and urban areas is dominant in solving these issues. This new approach is marked by the agreement on the ‘Pact of Amsterdam’ in 2016. This change in agenda-setting and focus has implications for cooperation of different levels of government in the EU. For local and regional authorities, the old ‘lobbying game’ will not be effective anymore. They will have to work towards an new governance equilibrium. Cooperation in solving the big issues, with the local agenda in mind, will be the new setting in de lobbying game. This paper explores these changes in the local and regional lobbying game in Brussels. And also will look at categories of characteristics of urban areas that play a role in shaping their lobbying strategy.