Whatever the result of David Cameron's negotiations with the European Council this week, it has long been obvious that the EU has a serious disconnect with the public it is supposed to serve and has little idea how to address the democratic deficit. Mr Cameron might even, in his negotiations, have called for a review of the EU's constitutional arrangements except that ultimately it is not his aim to make the Brussels more popular, only less interfering in domestic policy. Yet most of us have forgotten, or never knew, that local government has a key role within the EU's constitutional process.

For the EU has not been unaware of the gap between its institutions and the public. The 1994 Maastricht Treaty created the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) to involve regional and local authorities in the EU's decision-making process on the basis that 70% of EU legislation is implemented locally. It was also a means of closing the gulf between the public and the EU's institutions at the top. All the CoR's 350 members are elected councillors from their home countries. The European Parliament, the council and the commission consult the CoR in policy areas affecting regions and cities as subsidiarity means the EU must not take on tasks better suited to local and regional government.