The literature on the relationship between regions and the European Union (EU) has generated important insights. Firstly, existing scholarship has found that the EU has empowered, as well as disempowered, regions and sub-national governments. Secondly, researchers have convincingly demonstrated how regions have adapted to the EU opportunity structure. Finally, studies exist that have investigated the ways in which regions and sub-national governments have also influenced the EU opportunity structure. These dimensions are rarely brought together to examine the mutual influence and constant interaction of regions and the EU. Accordingly, this article aims to provide a short systematic account of how empowering and disempowering structures and sub-national governments’ endeavours in the United Kingdom (UK) interacted with the European level. It will do so through the Strategic-Relational Approach, showing how regional motivations, processes of devolution, differential opportunities and constraints and strategies of adaptation and transformation are interrelated. The last section will discuss some of the disempowering issues Brexit presents for the UK’s territorial and constitutional future.

中文翻译：

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欧盟是否赋予这些地区权力？英国脱欧前后的初步调查

关于地区与欧盟 (EU) 之间关系的文献已经产生了重要的见解。首先，现有的学术研究发现，欧盟赋予了地区和地方政府权力，也赋予了他们权力。其次，研究人员已经令人信服地证明了地区如何适应欧盟的机会结构。最后，已有研究调查了地区和地方政府也影响欧盟机会结构的方式。很少将这些维度放在一起来考察地区与欧盟之间的相互影响和持续互动。因此，本文旨在提供一个简短的系统说明，说明英国 (UK) 的授权和剥夺权力结构以及地方政府的努力如何与欧洲层面相互作用。它将通过战略关系方法做到这一点，展示区域动机、权力下放过程、不同的机会和制约因素以及适应和转型战略是如何相互关联的。最后一部分将讨论英国退欧给英国领土和宪法未来带来的一些削弱权力的问题。