This chapter argues that the EU's ‘nature of the beast’ is not to be captured by one particular type of governance. Rather, the EU combines forms of governance, which involve the member states to different degrees and are best characterised as ‘governance with the state’. The chapter starts with conceptualising the relationship between state and governance. It draws on the distinction between government or governance by the state and governance without the state. The second part uses this typology to study European governance. It shows that EU policies are largely formulated and implemented in multiple overlapping negotiation systems that mostly involve supranational and state actors and give little room for business and civil society. The chapter concludes by discussing some implications of this governance constellation for the European constitutional structure.