Regionalism in the EU: Legal organisation of a challenging social phenomenon

Abstract:

This article explores the capability of European Union law to 'organise' regionalism - in other words, to translate into legal process social demands in regions for greater autonomy from the central institutions of their state. The exploration involves examination of Treaty provisions, Union legislation, Court judgements and Commission decisions. The examination addresses problems of the relationship between legal and social space. It considers, in particular, the relationship between sovereignty-based definitions of space in EU law and the assumptions of the literature on multilevel governance.