The concept of governance is part of contemporary trends in public management. Its popularity has been growing since the early 1980s and it has become one of the main principles in modern approaches. Governance means the inclusion of actors, operating in different areas and at different levels, to achieve common aims at the interface with the public. In the Polish reality, the concept has got relatively little publicity; thus, it is worth promoting its objectives and showing how it can be implemented in the political and institutional practice. At present, it is identified with the improvement of management methods in the European Union in all aspects of the implementation of community policies, within the scope beyond the issues of administrative capacity and management efficiency. Such issues are becoming increasingly important as they relate to social participation and the question of legitimacy of public action in the European Union. The purpose of this article is to present the key issues related to the concept of European governance. It presents the key European documents on governance in the context of the search for its practical applications.