The strategies used by German local authorities in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area to present their interests to the European Union

Abstract

The European Union has a massive impact on the local level, as it is the level where most regulations, directives etc. have to be implemented. Due to the fact that the European institutions are known for their openness, the method of local authorities to present their interests is lobbying. There are several reasons why local authorities lobby, above all the influencing of decision-making processes and the acquisition of funding. As there are several higher levels than the local level, local authorities can make use of many actors that work as mediators for their representation of interest. They can either contact the EU institutions and their members directly or approach to actors and offers of federal state authorities. Another opportunity, which has been assessed as being very influential, is the participation in European associations and networks. This research focuses on the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area. The region is divided into two several regions, which are different in terms of their economical and financial situation. It has been analyzed, if a common cooperation would be beneficial but this can be denied. The backgrounds of both regions are too different and moreover both of them have already established their own regional networks.