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The paper presents a new approach to EU governance by stressing the interdependence of governance and integration. It suggests that EU governance is not just shaped by the emerging properties of the EU polity but has a strong impact both on system formation at national and European level. It is a process of mutual structuration which is likely to affect the integration and coherence of member state systems up to a point where European 'good governance' may threaten the governability and democratic quality of established national systems. The paper goes on to assess in a systematic way why and when EU governance may qualify as stumbling stones for member state coherence or stepping stones for transnational integration. EU governance has the effect of opening a trans-national polity space which, however, has not produced any visible dis-integrative effects at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]