Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance Actors, Networks and Agendas Routledge Studies on Government and the European Union Series

This book examines the theory and praxis of the legal concept of subsidiarity and the policy paradigm of multilevel governance, providing an updated overview on how subnational and national authorities engage within the EU institutional framework.

Providing a theoretical assessment of real-life case studies, the book reflects on a number of key events from the negotiations of the European Convention to the process that led to the "Brexit" referendum and assesses the key agendas and institutional ethos of most actors involved in EU policymaking. It particularly focusses on the EU engagement of so-called non-privileged actors, such as subnational authorities from the UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, as well as national and regional parliaments. The author goes on to examine the sometimes selfish behaviour and individual agendas of the European Commission, European Parliament, Member States and even the European Court of Justice but also identifies many constructive ways of interaction that can decisively frame how EU decisions are made.

This comprehensive book will be a useful reference to students, practitioners and academic researchers working in European politics, policymaking, public policy and EU law and integration.

Introduction: Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance: Actors, Networks and Agendas 1. Subsidiarity and Multilevel Governance: An Overview 2. Context Matters: The Participation of Local and Regional Authorities in EU Decision Making 3. The Committee of the Regions, 20 years On 4. The Praxis of Multilevel Governance in the European Union: Two Paradigmatic Case Studies and One Conflict 5. Europe 2020, "Better Regulation" and Multilevel Governance 6. Multilevel Governance in EU Cohesion Policy 7. The New EU Urban Agenda: Policy Entrepreneurialism for Multilevel EU Metagovernance 8. The Role of National and Subnational Parliaments 9. Coda: Multilevel Governance and Subsidiarity among Courts: The limits of Constitutional Dialogue 10. What Might Still Be: National and EU Proposals on Subsidiarity and Multilevel Governance in the Age of "Brexit". Conclusion

Serafín Pazos-Vidal is the Head of the Brussels Office of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), leading EU policy development and negotiation as well as acting as its main Brussels interface. Over the last 15 years, he has led various EU campaigns notably as chair of the CEMR expert group on Cohesion. He has drafted or contributed to various reports from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Committee of the Regions, European Parliament and European Commission as well as various UK and Scottish parliamentary inquiries.