European Regions' relationship with the EU seen from below- Re-visiting the subnational mobilization thesis

Concepts like subnational mobilization and multilevel governance put originally the subnational level and its interaction with the supranational institutions in the European Union (EU) centre stage. This article revisits fundamental claims of the debate about the relations between regions and the EU by analysing attitudinal data of top subnational officials from five European countries. Subnational administrative elites are generally EU-friendly and supportive of the process of European integration. With respect to issues of subnational governance, our respondents would like to see moderate strengthening of the institutional nexus between regions and the EU. However, subnational interest in closer cooperation with the EU in specific policy areas remains surprisingly weak