Europeanisation of Local Governance: An Insight at the Local Governance Level During the Poland-Denmark-Cyprus Trio

Although, the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU has attracted significant scholarly attention, the role of local governance, which is the closest to the European citizens, in this process has not received similar attention. Relevant literature has focused on challenges and achievements by subsequent rotating member states in performing their multi-task role. Consequently, the role of local governance in ‘communicating Europe to citizens’ or in ‘filling Europe’s democratic deficit’, has been neglected. Since holding the Presidency of the EU Council implies increased visibility, this paper focuses on the following questions: (1) to what extent the respective governments in the Poland-Denmark-Cyprus Trio felt that their local governance actors have been associated or have taken initiatives during their Council EU Presidency term, (2) how the current economic crisis, which has greatly impacted on local governance actors by deteriorating their debt situation and minimizing their resources, has influenced the ability of the EU to reach its citizens and how it has affected the latter’s uploading potential. In order to explore the impact of the politics of austerity on local governance actors during the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, this paper draws on the theory of the multi-level governance that sees the increased mobilization of the local governance actors as a sign of local empowerment. From a methodological point of view, it builds on the empirical data derived from questionnaires to local governance actors in the three countries in question. The scope of the research covers the municipalities of the respective capital cities, the two biggest municipalities in terms of population, and two remote and rural municipalities. This work argues that both the top-down ability of the EU to reach its citizens, as well as the bottom-up ability of local governance actors to develop initiatives has been seriously affected.