This book explores the concept of 'civil society', which over recent years has been revived and introduced into the institutional debate within the EU. Significantly, EU institutions themselves have made reference to civil society and, on an academic plane, it has been argued that the debate on the legitimacy of European governance should value the role of civil society organisations. Bringing together lawyers and political scientists, the book studies the role of civil society organisations in the multi-level context of European governance. Civil Society and Legitimate European Governance bridges the distance between normative suggestions, legal instruments and empirical analysis. Providing original contributions to the research on European governance, this book will appeal to all scholars and students with an interest in European integration and European institutions.
