Skip to main content
Go to homepage
a
M
Maastricht University Faculty of Law research paper cover indicating funding as governance concept.

Conceptualising Governing through Funding

Maastricht LAW Research Paper Series

Marijn van der Sluis and Evangelia (Lilian) Tsourdi
Funding has become a key EU tool for steering policy and integration. This introduction maps its legal foundations, institutional roles and the techniques behind it.
Maastricht University Faculty of Law research paper cover indicating funding as governance concept.

DOI
https://doi.org/10.26481/mup.law.rps.2605

Publication date (online)
03-11-2026

Copyright
© 2026 The Authors & Maastricht University

License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Download (PDF)
Read online

Maastricht University Press

Series:
Maastricht LAW Research Paper Series

Institution:
Maastricht University | Faculty of Law

This author’s version (preprint) is published in the Maastricht LAW Research Paper Series by Maastricht University Press. It is freely available for download or online reading.

Maastricht University Press logo

Open Access

Abstract

Funding has become an important tool for the European Union (EU) to promote integration and pursue its objectives through steering policy and its implementation.

We introduce an analysis of the rise of governing through funding in the edited volume from three perspectives. First, a constitutional perspective, which examines how EU constitutional law both enables and limits decision-making on EU spending. Second, an institutional perspective, which analyses the role of EU institutions in the use of funding; and last, a sectoral perspective, which studies how funding shapes EU policies. We also set out various techniques that tie the use of funding to policymaking: earmarking, co-financing, conditionality, planning, constituting policies, targeting and labelling, and the whole-of-government approach. Finally, we outline the effects of the rise of governing through funding on the use of competences, on governance, and on the overall dynamics of European integration.

Publication details and metadata

Title
​Conceptualising Governing through Funding

Series
Maastricht LAW Research Paper Series

Institution
Faculty of Law | Maastricht University

Authors
Marijn van der Sluis* (ORCID) – Maastricht University (ROR)
Evangelia (Lilian) Tsourdi (ORCID) – Maastricht University (ROR)

*Corresponding author

DOI (digital version) 
https://doi.org/10.26481/mup.law.rps.2605

Copyright
© 2026 The Authors & Maastricht University

License
The content of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.

Access to this publication 

Publication Type and Language
Research Paper – English

Publication date (first online)
3 November 2026

Subject
EU constitutional law

Keywords
governing through funding, EU constitutional law, EU institutions, EU policies, techniques of governing through funding, European integration, EU budget

Citation for this research paper
APA: van der Sluis, M., & Tsourdi, E. (2026). Conceptualising Governing through Funding. (pp. 1-25). Maastricht University Press. Maastricht LAW Research Paper Series Vol. 2026 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.26481/mup.law.rps.2605 

Final Published Version (preferred citation)

The final version of the record (and also suggested citation) is available as:

 

Statistics

Overview of total views and downloads. Statistics are updated monthly

  • Page views:
  • Paper downloads: 

Last update: