Mapping the European administrative space

The European administrative space is the area in which increasingly integrated administrations jointly exercise powers delegated to the EU in a system of shared sovereignty. Its development has been evolutionary and fluid. Its structures have been established on a case-by-case basis in different policy areas. Despite this differentiation, the phenomenon of administrative cooperation has led to an ‘integrated administration’ in the form of an intensive and often seamless cooperation between national and supranational administrative actors and activities. This article explores the reasons for and consequences of this development.