Local Government in Europe ─ The 'Fourth Level' in the EU Multilayered System of Governance

"This book offers a comparative study of the structure of the local government in the countries within the European Union from a public law perspective. The book provides a detailed analysis of the state of local government in fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and UK.For each Member State an expert on local government addresses a number of points including the present form of local government as well as current proposals for the reform of local government the functions of the local authorities the type and the degree of autonomy these bodies enjoy the internal organization and the local form of government the controls the local authorities undergo the system of funding of these bodies the influence of the European integration on the structure of the local government. In presenting such a wide-ranging survey, the book draws out the main trends of local government in Europe and outlines the elements of convergence and divergence between the Member States. The book also evaluates the impact of the European integration on the structure of the local government at national level, and argues that it is possible to view local government as the fourth level of the EU multi-layered constitution."--

Carlo Panara is Sr. Lecturer in EU and Public Law at LJMU School of Law. Since 2010 he is Research Co-ordinator for the School and REF Co-ordinator for the UOA20 Law. He is widely published in Italian, German, and English. He is author of the monograph ‘Il federalismo tedesco della Legge Fondamentale dalla cooperazione alla competizione’ (Rome: Aracne, 2008).

Mike Varney is a Lecturer in Law and Deputy Director of the Institute of European Public Law at the University of Hull. He has research interests in public law, media law and public procurement law and has published in these fields.