An ever more complex union

„An ever closer Union“ and now „united in diversity“: can these objectives of the European Union be achieved without taking into due account the regional authorities? Due to its heterogeneity, the regional dimension is still far from being truly recognized in the evolving constitutional setting of the EU, although increasingly involved in its system of multilevel-governance. But the important share in the burden of implementing EU law within the Member States, the general tendency of decentralization and regionalization (common to many Member States) in line with the principle of subsidiarity, as well as the safeguard of regional identities as part of the cultural diversity of the Union which ought to be considered in the decision-making process, require procedural and/or institutional devices. Focussing on legal and institutional aspects, the book explores the need and concrete possibilities of integrating the regional variable into the institutional system of the EU, including a critical evaluation of the outcome of the EU Convention in this regard. The book presents the results of a joint research project carried out by the European Academy of Bolzano and the Trentino Institute of Culture; it is of particular interest for (constitutional) lawyers, political scientists, students of European Studies and International Relations as well as for Civil servants dealing with EU affairs.