Since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, cities in the European Union (EU) use different approaches to acquire and maintain visibility and influence. EU mayors act in Brussels as ambassadors of their city, especially before the European Union institutions and bodies. EU cities can also request funding or get a label from the European Commission, so as to carry on projects or get recognition in a concrete topic. Nevertheless, the approaches of each city towards the opportunities the EU provides for city diplomacy are different. These approaches can be measured by the resources invested by the council for city diplomacy, by the intensity of their use and by the level of coordination of the city services. Thus, this analysis intends to provide a model to examine the different scenarios geared by these indicators: the bywatcher (cities interested only by concrete opportunities), the silent silo (a council where some departments work in EU policies but not together) and the strategist (cities that maximize their involvement in EU opportunities).

Since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, cities in the European Union (EU) use different approaches to acquire and maintain visibility and influence. EU mayors act in Brussels as ambassadors of their city, especially before the European Union institutions and bodies. EU cities can also request funding or get a label from the European Commission, so as to carry on projects or get recognition in a concrete topic. Nevertheless, the approaches of each city towards the opportunities the EU provides for city diplomacy are different. These approaches can be measured by the resources invested by the council for city diplomacy, by the intensity of their use and by the level of coordination of the city services. Thus, this analysis intends to provide a model to examine the different scenarios geared by these indicators: the bywatcher (cities interested only by concrete opportunities), the silent silo (a council where some departments work in EU policies but not together) and the strategist (cities that maximize their involvement in EU opportunities).