Federalism in the EUFederalism is a system of administration involving two or more levels of government with autonomous powers and responsibilities. It is a political concept in which a group of members is bound by agreement with a ruling representative leader. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central authority and constituent political units (such as states or provinces). In the United States, federalism advocates a stronger central government, which is not the case in the EU. European federalism advocates for a weaker central government. The strongest defenders of European federalism have been countries like Germany, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg, while the most fiercely opposed have been the United Kingdom and France; while countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, etc. have never campaigned specifically for a particular mode of governance in Europe are considered federalists. Thus, in European Union politics, federalists primarily seek greater European integration. But in contrast, in Spain and post-war Germany, federal movements sought decentralization: the transfer of power from central authorities to local units. Intergovernmentalism in the EUIntergovernmentalism is a system in which several levels of government are active in a given policy area. . There is formal equality between member states and their respective sovereignty is preserved. An approach to integration that considers states, and national governments in particular, as the main actors in the integration process. Various intergovernmentalist approaches have been developed in the literature and these claim to be able to explain both the period...... middle of paper ......good, despite the long and bumpy road before its ratification , clearly shows some issues related to neo-functionalism, and its self-application seems to continue. html http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/treaties/lisbon_treaty/ai0033_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/archives/lisbon_treaty/glance/index_en.htm http://lup.lub.lu.se /luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1652995&fileOId=1662489 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/8702/1/8702.pdf http://www.jhubc.it/ecpr-porto/virtualpaperroom/086.pdfhttp ://books.google.es/books?id=31kAWrDfNrcC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=treaty+of+lisbon+federalists+vs+intergovernmentalism&source=bl&ots=fxfetHUMgY&sig=ig-lw2vqFNTATYGG1zgILCZ-834&hl=en&sa=X&ei=jHNXU 6HiGcy U0QWt5oGwCw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA# v=one page&q&f=false