This book is the first monograph-form legal study on multilevel governance in the EU and
represents a radical change in the approach to this topic. Particularly after the Treaty of
Lisbon's entry into force research on multilevel governance can no longer remain confined to
the analysis of political dynamics or of soft law arrangements. Multilevel governance emerges
as a constitutional principle in the European constitutional space envisaging a method of
governance based on the strong involvement of sub-national authorities in the creation and
implementation of EU law and policy. Its foundation is in the mosaic resulting from the
constitutional systems of the Union and its Member States. Multilevel governance arrangements
play a fundamental part in achieving key Treaty objectives (such as subsidiarity respect for
the national identities of the Member States including regional and local self-government
openness and closeness to the citizen). These arrangements lend legitimacy to EU
decision-making while also promoting constitutionalism and democracy in the EU.
