ABSTRACT

Local and national factors remain key variables in influencing the institutional design of local systems of governance and local political culture. However, the European Union (EU) context is increasingly encroaching on the way cities across Europe are run and the policies they can implement. The basic question of this chapter is to identify what roles cities currently play in the EU multi-level governance: are they emerging as key players or do they still remain minor entities, pushed aside by the other players? What are the implications of this role with respect to urban leadership and community involvement, especially concerning their complementarity and interplay?