The institutional architecture of the European Union (EU) and the different decision-making procedures regulating European policies pose several questions on the existence of a government for the Union and the nature of such government. In recent years, following important changes in the European institutional structure and balances, the topic has arisen repeatedly in the political and academic debate.

This joint project led by Centro Studi sul Federalismo (CSF) and Istituto Affari Internazionali intends to investigate the current structure of the EU system of governance/government in its different policy areas and related topics: (1) Supranationalism and intergovernamentalism; (2) Representation and Democracy; (3) The challenges of differentiated integration; (4) Economic governance; (5) Europe in the World. The project will also tackle the future developments of the European mechanism of governance, putting forward a series of policy and institutional recommendations for the medium and long term, aimed primarily at improving the democratic nature and the effectiveness of the European decision-making processes.

The contributions of leading national and international experts will be published in a CSF/IAI paper series and available on the institutes’ websites. One seminar in Rome and one international conference in Brussels will be held in 2016 to present the results of the project.