ABSTRACT
The role of sub-national entities in the European Union (EU) is one of the most fascinating but also ambiguous and debated issues in the EU integration process. The topic is undoubtedly complex, but since it can also be studied from different methodological angles, it is possible to reach different – even contradictory – assessments of the role of sub-national entities in the EU. The other Member States – France, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Belgium – had a unitary form of State with no recognition of sub-national units with legislative powers. The Treaty of Rome definitely contains the seeds of this attention for regional dimensions, albeit only in economic terms. The attention paid by Italy to the “regional” dimension favoured the creation of two key instruments for the future regional policy of the EU: the European Social Fund and the European Bank of Investment.
