Legitimacy through partnership? EU policy diffusion in Britain and Sweden

Partnership has become a central principle of European Union (EU) policies, particularly in relation to the structural funds. This article considers t he diffusion of the partnership principle in the EU, focusing on Britain an d Sweden. It is concerned with two questions. First, has the partnership pr inciple led to a process of harmonisation across states or to national resi stance? Second, to what extent has the partnership principle enhanced the l egitimacy of EU decision making?. The evidence presented here suggests that though there has not been signifi cant resistance to the partnership principle within Britain and Sweden, the EU's requirements have been interpreted and implemented differently in the two states. Thus it is more appropriate to speak of *adaptation' to partne rship rather than 'adoption'. This is explained by what we summarise as 'na tional democratic traditions'. In terms of democratic legitimacy, the Swedish adaptation to partnership wa s nominally more democratic in that local politicians were readily involved from the outset, whereas in Britain they were not. However, the importance of this inclusion should not be overstated in relation to substantive demo cratic legitimacy. The Swedish model was not supported by well-articulated democratic strategies or principles. Despite the limitations of the Swedish model, recent developments suggest that Britain is following a similar pat h.