ABSTRACT
The search for new forms of governance has not been limited to the local and national levels. After the rapid expansion of both the number of members, and the areas of activities of the European Community during the second half of the twentieth century, European decision-making stagnated considerably. In addition to deregulation and the codification of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, attempts were made to strengthen the role of the European Parliament and to reinvigorate the Community Method. However, in spite of it all, the need to improve governance and policy-making persisted. Especially since in addition to the impact of general processes of growing international interdependency, the EU is increasingly confronted with the consequences of its asymmetrical development (Wendler 2003, 4). 1 Tensions arising from the advanced economic cooperation on the one hand, and the limited mutual coordination in policy areas that have hitherto remained more national on the other hand, have led to an impasse.
