The Status of Subnational Authorities in EU Law

Abstract

This chapter introduces the subject of analysis and provides the conceptual framework and the main themes of the book. It introduces the outsider and insider narratives of subnational authorities (SNAs) in EU law and sets out the characteristic features of these two parallel yet opposed narratives. We will observe that while SNAs are outsiders of EU law from a formal point of view, the insider narrative highlights their increasing role in the achievement of EU objectives and the substantive development of supranational law. The concepts of polycentricity and porosity are introduced to assist in framing the multidimensional interactions which occur between different scales of pubic authorities. It is suggested that the paradigm of interconnection is key to any understanding of the contemporary role of SNAs.