The City as an Actor in European Governance? Notes on the Local Sphere Research

Abstract

The paper uses the example of Czech and German cities to examine the involvement of the local sphere in multilevel EU governance. Under some conceptualizations (multilevel governance, Europeanization and paradiplomacy), cities are perceived to be relevant actors. However, the range of their competencies and opportunities to create EU politics appears rather unclear and has been left largely unexplored. The inclusion of the local sphere in the concept of multilevel governance is often merely declaratory in character, without offering a clear definition of what is meant by its involvement in practice, what its nature and scope are and what restrictions apply. This paper attempts to initiate a discussion on the role played by cities as the fourth level in European governance and use research to data-map the role played by cities in European policymaking.