This book offers a comparative study of the structure of the local government in the countries within the European Union from a public law perspective. The book provides a detailed analysis of the state of local government in fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and UK. For each Member State an expert on local government addresses a number of points including: the present form of local government as well as current proposals for the reform of local government the functions of the local authorities the type and the degree of autonomy these bodies enjoy the internal organization and the local form of government the controls the local authorities undergo the system of funding of these bodies the influence of the European integration on the structure of the local government. In presenting such a wide-ranging survey, the book draws out the main trends of local government in Europe and outlines the elements of convergence and divergence between the Member States. The book also evaluates the impact of the European integration on the structure of the local government at national level, and argues that it is possible to view local government as the 'fourth level' of the EU multi-layered constitution.