Engagement with the EU by Local and Regional Authorities from South East Europe

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This article applies MLG theory to the study of engagement of local and regional authorities from South East Europe with the EU. It identifies the EU policies that impact the local and regional authorities from the region. This is a reliable predictor of the areas in which they are likely to engage with the EU. The article also identifies the various epiphanies of this engagement. Local and regional authorities from South East Europe engage with the EU through their own national associations but also through the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS). This is a region-wide organisation of which all the national associations of local and regional authorities from South East Europe are members. Lobbying with EU institutions does not play a big role for the local and regional authorities from South East Europe. These authorities, however, both those from EU and those from non-EU countries, attempt to influence EU policy through the national governments and, where the interests of the national government are not aligned with those of sub-national authorities, through the regional network NALAS or other channels, such as European networks of local and regional authorities, the Committee of the Regions, and Brussels- based representation offices. These offices are limited in number and size due to their high cost and the limited benefits they generate, e.g., in terms of impact on policy. The study evidences a different approach to engagement with the EU in EU and non-EU countries from South East Europe. Whilst NALAS creates momentum around the interests of local and regional authorities from South East Europe, its existence also reveals the relative weakness of these sub-national authorities that, due to their limited powers and resources, are unable to engage with the EU directly and must do so through NALAS, European networks, the CoR or, where viable, the national governments.