The relationship between the EU institutions and the EU Member States, but also of the Member States amongst themselves is at the core of the EU polity. This relationship finds its most concrete expression in the interactions of the European regulatory space. This space is subject to transformative forces which lead to fundamental changes in the EU legal practice in the place of Member States within the EU.

This panel will focus on four transformative forces: Member State’s reception of new EU law duties, new forms of regulatory measures, increasing intensity of coordination and technological change. We will elaborate on whether these forces are unifying or diversifying forces and whether room they leave for Member States to pursue their own economic and political goals or maintain their own administrative cultures.

This research provides some concrete answers to the questions of how intrusive or relaxed EU regulation is, a question which has played an increased role in public policy debates throughout the EU Member States. We will point to mechanism that reduce individual space for decision as well as to mechanism which create or protect this space.