Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance
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.
Serafn 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.
Routledge Studies on Government and the European Union
Edited by Andy Smith, University of Bordeaux, France
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Neoliberalism and its Alternatives following the 1973 Oil Crisis
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Edited by Franois Foret and Oriane Calligaro
Governing Sustainability in the EU
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Edited by Mark Bevir and Ryan Phillips
Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance
Actors, Networks and Agendas
Serafn Pazos-Vidal
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-on-Government-and-the-European-Union/book-series/RSGEU
Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance
Actors, Networks and Agendas
Serafn Pazos-Vidal
First published 2019
by Routledge
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2019 Serafn Pazos-Vidal
The right of Serafn Pazos-Vidal to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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ISBN: 978-1-138-32034-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-45337-3 (ebk)
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The present book is a shortened and updated conversion of a Doctoral Thesis that was directed by Professor Dr Luis Domnguez Castro, University of Vigo, and co-directed by Dr Yolanda Gmez Snchez, Professor of Constitutional Law, and Professor Jean Monnet of the European Union, UNED. The author wishes to thank them for their patience, support and advice on both the research and the practical aspects of the doctoral programme. The Thesis was awarded cum laude in September 2017 and received the Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado award in July 2018, thus concluding a research project started in 2001.
The author wishes to thank the courtesy of institutions such as the Committee of the Regions, whose excellent library on the topics of this thesis has been an inexhaustible source of information; the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, including its Secretary General Dr Andreas Kiefer; Sofia de Orue of the Basque Government; Dr Manuel Prez Castreje; Pablo Cornide; Manuel Esprrago Azardun; the colleagues of the Regional Studies Association Research Network on Cohesion Policy, in particular Dr Nicola Francesco Dotti; and the colleagues from the CEMR member associations for their support, advice and patience.
It is necessary to acknowledge here the many colleagues who contributed their testimony, comments and suggestions throughout the period of writing this thesis. Many of them, due to their professional obligations, have not been mentioned explicitly in the text. This book is as much the result of the authors personal research as it is the recognition of the work of a whole generation of colleagues who, like the author himself, sought to build Europe from the territories.
No less invaluable has been the willingness of my employers over the last ten years, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), in particular Anil Gupta, for allowing me and in fact encouraging me to reconcile my professional task as the manager of the organisations European team with the research tasks of the thesis and its book conversion.
It is also pertinent to acknowledge here the readiness of Routledge, in particular Routledge Studies on Government and the European Union book series editor Professor Andy Smith, Directeur de recherche CNRS,Sciences Po Bordeaux, and Routledges editorial team, particularly Natalie Tomlinson and Sophie Iddamalgoda, for considering this book project and their support and advice throughout the process.
Finally, I would like to thank my partner, Emily, our children as well as family and friends for their patience in these long months, indeed years, of writing and revising the text. I hope that the result is up to the generosity showed by all of them.
