What constitutes the political complexity of Europe?
“In Europe, we live in different constitutional environments, institutional settings and administrative traditions. Due to the failed attempts at constitutionalisation, the European Union is still to be characterised as being based on a patchwork of treaties. And at the national level, we find many different legal, political and institutional traditions, ranging from federal and unitary states to a whole variety of regional and local institutional arrangements. If one adds the multitude of regulatory provisions, the complexity is quite apparent.”

How does this political and institutional diversity affect the local level in Europe?
“Local governments increasingly have to function within this multi-level environment. From a European perspective, they are being influenced by various development programmes, such as the Lisbon Process, the EU Sustainability Approach or the Leipzig Charter. But also funding strategies or ecological directives are, of course, influential as regards their performance. And at the national level, implementation strategies, the re-allocation of tax revenues, and attempts at further decentralization directly affect local policies. Although we witness ongoing reforms in order to managerialise and optimize administrative routines, the governance of localities is, therefore, getting more complex. At the same time, the “weight” of local governments is growing as well as they are challenged by and impact upon further environments as a result of internationalisation and globalisation.“

What are the main conflict areas for local governments in Europe today?
"Three major conflict areas seem to stand out: the future of the agglomerations, Stadt-Umland problems and the handling of the rural-urban divide. When it comes to agglomerations, one has to consider examples such as the Randstad, Rh ein-Main or the Ruhrgebiet. These areas are dealing with multifold problems, ranging from their internal organisation to territorial planning, neighbourhood relations and a clearly detectable crisis of multiculturalism.

As regards Stadt-Umland problems, so different cities such as Arnhem, Eindhoven, Oldenburg or even Berlin have to deal with asymmetric expenditure and revenue levels, unbalanced basic services, planning conflicts with neighbouring municipalities and growing social and territorial disparities. The regions, in turn, take Friesland/Groningen/Drenthe vs. North-South Holland/Utrecht in the Netherlands, face further migration towards urban agglomerations, increasing per capita costs for infrastructure and basic services (in the periphery) and social/political tensions, such as the danger of politically extremist movements in remote and deprived areas.“

How should local governments deal with these kinds of complexities?
"Local) authorities should focus more on co-ordination, co-operation and innovation. Increased co-operation between authorities is vital, both vertically as well as horizontally. Authorities should share responsibilities while dividing accountabilities. They also need to seek compliance instead of relying on traditional modes of ordering and control. And finally, a strict focus on outcome-oriented policy-formulation and implementation should almost be imperative.“

How could this increased cooperation between authorities at different levels take form?
“We need a European-wide comparison of local/regional policy capacities; it ought to be well structured, organised and based on a continuous information exchange. The development of an input- and outcome-oriented benchmarking system should be promoted as well - as a comprehensive database containing vital documentation, not least on best practices. Increased networking and improved exchange between actors is of utmost importance in (and for) today’s quickly changing society. In sum, there is a need for a continuously updated comparison and cross-border “tracking“ of innovative local/regional policies. At the moment, we are not well equipped for comparative research on decentral government in Europe, even though it is greatly needed.”