Spanish Regions and he 1993 Communi y Challenge
F ancesc MORATA
Uni e si a Au ònoma de Ba celona
Wo king Pape n.34
Ba celona 1991
INTRODUCTION
In Spain he poli ical ansi ion om au ho i a ianism o democ acy was
cha ac e ized by he need o ind a solu ion o he pe manen c isis o he old
cen alis s a e, ha is, o p o ide a posi i e esponse o he his o ical claims o
Ca alonia and he Basque Coun y. The double igh -le /cen e-pe iphe y
consensus which es ablished poli ical au onomy o hese mino i ies is he ou come
o he 1978 Spanish Cons i u ion, and he gene aliza ion o his au onomy was
p obably he only comp omise possible in hese ci cums ances.
Spain's en y in o he Eu opean Communi y in 1986 was seen as he inal
s ep in a poli ical and social p ocess which s a ed a e he dea h o Gene al
F anco, hus pu ing an end o he coun y's secula isola ion om e en s aking
place in he es o Eu ope.
Ne e heless, as o o he nonuni a ian Membe s a es, he en y in o he
EC has also c ea ed p oblems o a poli ical and ins i u ional na u e, which highligh
he sho comings o he cons i u ional ag eemen on he egions. Despi e his,
Eu opean in eg a ion and de olu ion a e no con adic o y, bu complemen a y and
inc easingly in e dependen p ocesses.
He e we will gi e a b ie o e iew o he de olu ion p ocess, ocussing on
he main and mos con o e sial p oblems. Second, we will discuss he egional
impac o he Eu opean Communi y. Finally, he indings based on in e iews
ca ied ou wi h wo samples o poli ical and socio-economic eli es in ou ele an
egions will allow us o examine he egional a i udes ega ding he EC as well as
he Communi y ini ia i es and ins umen s ha could p omo e ins i u ional and
egional de elopmen in a pos -1992 con ex (1).
I. THE DEVOLUTION PROCESS
1. Cons i u ional p o isions
The Spanish Cons i u ion es ablishes a hyb id sys em which is nei he
ede al no egional, bu based on he p inciples o he “uni y o he Spanish na ion"
and he "au onomy o he na ionali ies and egions which cons i u e i ”. Due o he
cons i u ional pac , he uni y-au onomy binomial exp esses he di icul ies aced by
he pa ies in eaching a sa is ac o y ag eemen as o he o ganiza ion o he
e i o ial s a e. The a he complex and ambiguous na u e o he di ision o powe
be ween he cen al and egional ins i u ions has been a sou ce o cons an poli ical
and judicial con o e sies leading in many cases o he Cons i u ional Cou .
In p inciple he Cons i u ion has no es ablished a o ally decen alized
s a e, since he c ea ion o an Au onomous Communi y (AC) did no depend on he
Spanish Pa liamen bu on a ep esen a i e e i o ial assembly which was
esponsible o o mula ing a S a u e o Au onomy. The S a u es o Au onomy a e
legally p o ec ed agains u u e change and hence ha e a simila s anding o he
Cons i u ion in es ablishing he dis ibu ion o powe s. S a u es all in o wo main
ca ego ies which e lec wo di e en ways o eaching au onomy: special and
gene al. The i s one co e s he h ee na ional mino i ies (The Basque Coun y,
Ca alonia and Galicia) wi h he addi ion o Andalusia. The ou Communi ies ha e
" ull" au onomy S a u es which mus be a i ied by e e endum. The gene al way,
which co esponds o ele en egions, is jus a ansi iona y one: a e a i e-yea
pe iod he egional au ho i ies can eques wide powe s o ob ain " ull" au onomy
(as has al eady happened in some cases). In addi ion, he Spanish Pa liamen can
ans e legisla i e and execu i e unc ions wi hou any s a u o y e o m ( his ook
place in he Cana y Islands and Valencia). Due o he cons i u ional ecogni ion o
his " adi ional igh s", Na a a enjoys a ull au onomy egime oo. Thus he
Spanish sys em, despi e he ini ial he e ogenei y, in ac ends owa ds
homogenei y.
Ob iously, de olu ion includes ins i u ional and adminis a i e o ganiza ion. The
Cons i u ion es ablishes h ee kinds o ins i u ions: a legisla i e assembly elec ed by
uni e sal su age, a go e nmen council headed by a p esiden , and a high cou o
jus ice. Acco ding o he p inciple o sel go e nmen , each AC de e mines i s own
adminis a i e o ganiza ion.
The dis ibu ion o unc ions is based on wo lis s. Acco ding o sec ion
148.2 each AC can ake on he ollowing unc ions: o ganiza ion o egional
adminis a ion; local adminis a ion (some mino unc ions); e i o ial planning
(u ban planning, housing, public wo ks, en i onmen , e c.); social se ices, cul u e
and economic policy ( ou ism, small ades and indus y, ag icul u e and ishing,
communica ions and egional de elopmen ).
Howe e , he eal limi a ion o de olu ion ela es o he cen al s a e
unc ions (sec ion 149.1). The legal p o ision is a he ambiguous and has gi en
ise o nume ous con lic s equi ing he in e en ion o Cons i u ional Cou , ei he a
he eques o cen al o egional go e nmen s (especially Ca alonia, Basque
Coun y and Galicia). As a gene al ule, he Cons i u ion a ibu es o he cen al
ins i u ions he "basic legisla ion" o "basic no ms" ela ing o unc ions ha can be
aken on oo by he AC's in hei S a u es (ag icul u e, banking and c edi , heal h,
educa ion, economic planning, e i o ial se ing, employmen , anspo ,
en i onmen , public mass media, local go e nmen , e c.). In addi ion, in some a eas
cen al and egional au ho i ies a e bo h ully compe en (cul u e o esea ch policy).
This leads o a sys em o sha ed legisla i e unc ions in which he limi s be ween he
wo powe s a e a he unclea . Thus, public ac o s o en ope a e unila e ally
in ading each o he 's compe ences.
The Spanish sys em only pa ly ollows he p inciples o execu i e
ede alism. The egions en o ce hei own egula ions as well as he cen al "basic"
o gene al legisla ion. Ne e heless, cen al ins i u ions main ain some execu i e
unc ions dealing wi h “sup a egional" se ices o “gene al in e es s" (Muñoz
Machado, 1982) which hus p o ides hem wi h e i o ial bodies. Cen al con ols
o e egional adminis a ions a e only allowed when hey ca y ou unc ions
p e iously ans e ed o delega ed by cen al ins i u ions.
Following adi ional ede alism, he Cons i u ion es ablishes se e al
mechanisms o ensu e he ep esen a ion o egional in e es s a he na ional le el.
Some membe s o he Uppe Chambe (Senado) a e di ec ly elec ed by e i o ial
pa liamen s and hese can also deposi bills in he Lowe Chambe (Cong eso).
Finally, egions enjoy inancial au onomy acco ding o he p inciples o
coo dina ion wi h s a e. inance and in e egional solida i y. The egional inancing
sys em is b oadly based on sha ed cen al e enues, egional ax e enues and
con ibu ions om a sha ed coope a ion und (Fondo de Compensación
In e e i o ial). Ne e heless, he main e enues -especially he income axes-
belong o he cen al s a e.
2. Cu en p ac ice
2.1. Con lic s
Since 1982, he majo i y go e nmen has eed he socialis pa y (PSOE) om he
obliga ion o ha ing o nego ia e he laws de ining he unc ions and powe s o
cen al ins i u ions a ec ing hose o he egions (e.g. public adminis a ion, elec o al
sys em pe sonnel, educa ion and uni e si y, heal h and police). These laws
conside ably educed hei ange o powe s o cing he Cons i u ional Cou o
in e ene. A he same ime he cen al go e nmen has no hesi a ed in opposing
egional legal and adminis a i e a angemen s when hey we e conside ed o
enc oach on cen al compe ences. By 1989, hese con o e sies had gene a ed
mo e han 800 legal dispu es (Aja, 1990) and e lec an ex emely high deg ee o
con lic . Howe e , he decisions o he Cons i u ional Cou , in which egions a e no
ep esen ed, ha e ended o p ese e he in e ening powe s o he cen al
ins i u ions. Mo eo e , he 1985 Local Go e nmen Ac -which es ablished he
p o ince as he second le el o local adminis a ion- allows cen al go e nmen o
ans e g an s and o he esou ces o p o incial and local councils hus
implemen ing cen al policies by by-passing he egional le el.
2.2. Lack o coope a ion
Despi e appea ances, he Spanish Cons i u ion does no p o ide o he
e ec i e in eg a ion o egional conce ns in he gene al decision making p ocess.
The Sena e is in ac a non-specialized chambe , elec ed on majo i y basis a he
p o incial le el, whe e na ional pa ies domina e. Only 20% o sena o s a e elec ed
di ec ly om egional pa liamen s. This si ua ion weakens ins i u ional cohesion,
leads o cen i ugal endencies and, in sho , unde mines he sys em's abili y o
unc ion.
In addi ion, he ole o he sec o ial con e encies (mo e han 30)
ins i uzionalized since 1983 is in no way compa able o ha o simila bodies in
Wes Ge many. They ba ely acili a e he exchange o in o ma ion al eady adop ed
unila e ally o nego ia ed wi hou he exis ing p ocedu es (e.g. he inancial
a angemen s). The poli ical nego ia ion wi h cen al au ho i ies is no mally ca ied
ou by bila e al a angemen s. This hinde s he adop ion o global ag eemen s. In
addi ion, he e is no ho izon al coo dina ion among egional adminis a ions, no
e en wi h he aim o exchange expe iences o poin s o iew.
E ec i e coo dina ion is he esul o he poli ical ba gaining which has
domina ed he de olu ion p ocess, allowing sho - e m poli ical calcula ions o
p e ail o e he need o a ionali y and e iciency. The highly complex na u e o i s
adminis a i e wo kings e eals some cha ac e is ics common o decen aliza ion:
agmen a ion, dispa i y o unc ions, cen al in e e ences, absence o a clea model
o public adminis a ion and -hence- he cons an p esence o poli ical and
ins i u ional con lic .
The exis ing model o in e go e nmen al ela ions e lec s wo
policy-making s yles. The i s one -o pa isan inspi a ion cha ac e izes he ela ions
be ween cen al go e nmen and he en egions unde socialis con ol.
Policy-making is undamen ally based on in e nal pa y nego ia ion. The con lic
bu s ou in esponse o powe s uggles and no because o ins i u ional
disag eemen s. The second s yle co esponds o he ela ions be ween Mad id and

he AC go e ned by na ionalis o ces -pa icula ly Ca alonia and he Basque
coun y- o igh wing pa ies. He e, he beha io o he ac o s -based on poli ical
an agonism- has un il now been basically eac i e, oscilla ing be ween he
cons i u ional managemen o con lic s and ha d ba gaining un il a bila e al
ag eemen is eached. In he end, one side a i udes (pa isan, exploi a ion o
ins i u ional con on a ion, mu ual dis us and poli ical ic imiza ion) ha e ended o
domina e he common alues and in e es s ha could p omo e consensus and
coope a ion.
2.3. The dis ibu ion o inancial esou ces
The legal de elopmen o he Cons i u ion es ablished -wi h he excep ion o he
Basque Coun y and Na a e (2)- a p o isional inancing sys em o he AC, which
came in o o ce un il 1986, based on he e alua ion o he cen al se ices de ol ed
o he new adminis a ions, he p oduc o ans e ed axes and he In e e i o ial
Coope a ion Fund. The i s mechanism equi ed he o mula ion o a e y complex
me hod o e alua ion and he es ablishmen o se en een bila e al commissions o
es ima e he annual cos o ans e ed se ices. In ac , he combina ion o bo h
elemen s has allowed cen al au ho i ies o decide he amoun o ma ching
e enues acco ding o cen al budge p io i ies. A he same- ime, he AC did no
c ea e hei own axes, a oiding playing he unpopula ole o ax collec o s.
Mo eo e , he Coope a ion Fund (a ound 30% o cen al budge in es men ) has
ailed in he double unc ion o educing e i o ial dispa i ies and p o iding inancial
in es men s o all egions. In hese ci cums ances he new au ho i ies had no
o he op ion han o un in o inc easing indeb ness (15% o o al expendi u e in
1990).
The new inance sys em -e ec i e only om 1987 o 1991- is he esul o
a di icul commi men which has al eady been called in o ques ion. The mos
impo an inno a ions conce n he di ision o he coope a ion und in o wo
independen blocks (less de eloped and mo e de eloped egions) and he
p ospec s o pe manen pa icipa ion in some cen al e enues. Despi e poli ical
disag eemen s and as a consequence o he p og essi e ans e o unc ions, in
1990 he pa icipa ion ok egional au ho i ies in o al public expendi u e ose o 22%,
which ep esen ed 32.6% o public in es men .
II. THE REGIONAL IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
1. The ins i u ional impac
As has al eady been no ed, Spain's en y in o he EC has had ins i u ional
and poli ical consequences a he egional le el. As in he o he decen alized
Membe S a es (Schwan, 1982; Me loni, 1985; Ve weyen, 1985; Mo a a, 1987) he
ans e o so e eign y has had nega i e e ec s on he cons i u ional posi ion o he
egions which, in con as o he cen al go e nmen , do no pa icipa e di ec ly in
Communi y decision-making. The loss o decision-making powe s a ec s many
a eas, pa icula ly a e he en o cemen o he SEA: inance, ag icul u e, indus y,
economic planning, e i o ial policy, anspo , esea ch, en i onmen and
consume igh s.
Ne e heless, acco ding o he in e nal dis ibu ion o unc ions, he
egions ough o implemen Communi y policies ela ed o hei own compe ences
and o hose sha ed wi h cen al ins i u ions. The e ec o a egula o y Di ec i e on
one o hese sha ed a eas would no mally be he displacemen o he cen al s a e
by Eu opean ins i u ions, hus allowing he AC o p oceed o he di ec
implemen a ion o he Communi y ule (Ga cia de En e ia, 1990). Despi e he
excep ional coe ci e powe o cen al ins i u ions o ensu e egional du ies (3), he
cons i u ional equi emen s a e unable o gua an ee he execu ion o Eu opean
Di ec i es acco ding o he allowed delays. Un il now, he e has been only one
con lic on his subjec when in 1989 he Cana ian go e nmen ini ially e used o
implemen he cus oms a i s educ ion o seen in he adhesion ea y. Poli ical
nego ia ion acili a ed he esolu ion o he con o e sy. Con lic s a ise mo e
equen ly when bo h le els o go e nmen conside hemsel es compe en (4).
2. Pa icipa ion in he decision-making p ocess
The in eg a ion o subcen al ins i u ions in he Communi y decision
p ocess is s ill an unsol ed p oblem in he cu en deba e on he Eu opean
in eg a ion. Due o he indi e ence o Communi y ea ies ega ding he
cons i u ional s uc u es o he Membe s a es, only in e nal app oaches ha e been
a ailable. Anyhow, compa a i e analysis shows ha p ese ing in e nal balance o
powe s depends mo e on poli ical nego ia ions and in e go e nmen al coope a ion
han on cons i u ional in e p e a ions (H bek-Thaysen, 1987; Mo a a, 1987). In
con as o Wes Ge many, in Spain pa icipa ion o he egions ia he Sena e is
ob iously no easible. In 1986, aced wi h p essu e om he egional au ho i ies,
he cen al go e nmen p esen ed a p ojec o an "Ag eemen on coope a ion in
ma e s o Communi y a ai s".
2.1. The cen al go e nmen p oposal
The p oposal, nego ia ed un il 1988, has come in a s ands ill. This was based on he
in o mal "Lände " p ocedu e in o ce in he Fede al Republic o Ge many om 1980
o 1986 (Schumann-Hanneleck, 1983). I p o ided o he ans e o all in o ma ion
a ec ing egional domains. The subcen al au ho i ies would in o m go e nmen o
hei policy c i e ia wi h a iew o o ming he "s a e will", and o cing he execu i e
o inco po a e hem, "i possible", in o he Spanish posi ion, p o iding hey whe e
compa ible wi h he "gene al in e es s” o he s a e and he p ocess o in eg a ion. In
o de o make he p ocedu e ope a ional, a p oposal was made o cons i u e a
egional commi ee h ough which AC would coo dina e hemsel es and coope a e
wi h he cen al au ho i ies in o de o p o ide in o ma ion and exp ess egional
opinions. In addi ion, he commi ee could p opose he designa ion o an "obse e "
and an "ex a obse e " o he egions as membe s o he pe manen Spanish
ep esen a ion in B ussels, wi h diploma ic s a us unde he ju isdic ion o he
Spanish ambassado . The unc ions o he obse e s would include sending epo s
and documen s o he egional commi ee. As membe s o he pe manen
ep esen a ion, bo h obse e s could a end mee ings o EC commi ees and
wo king g oups, "exp essing opinions coinciding wi h hose o o icial delega ion".
The echnical sho comings o he p oposal we e a he ob ious: Wha
kind o in o ma ion should be sen and how could i be e alua ed? How o o ganise
coo dina ion and decision-making among se en een ac o s wi h unequal
compe ences? To wha ex en would he egional opinions be aken in o accoun ?
Howe e , he main p oblem is ha he mos powe ul egions wan hei own
ep esen a i e o ha e a g ea e deg ee o au onomy wi h espec o he o icial
ep esen a ion. The cen al go e nmen 's e usal o accep his eques has blocked
any possibili y o poli ical ag eemen on his subjec .
2.1. The limi ed ag eemen
Due o he lack o consensus, he only e ec i e a angemen s eached
un il now e e o some basic p inciples and p ac ical aspec s. The i s i em includes
he mu ual comp omise o espec he in e nal dis ibu ion o unc ions and he
loyal y o he Cons i u ion in ma e s dealing o he EC. Second, in May 1990 bo h
au ho i ies decided o es ablish a elema ic da a base, linked o he S a e Sec e a y
o Eu opean Communi ies, which p o ides Communi y in o ma ion o egional
go e nmen s. Besides, a coo dina ion ag eemen has been eached o ace he
Communi y law b eaches.
The in e go e nmen al con e ence o Communi y A ai s emain he only
ool a ailable o egional pa icipa ion. None heless, we ha e al eady men ioned
he gene al de iciencies which cha ac e ize his kind o coope a ion, so he oom o
a eal in e en ion in he decision-making p ocess emains e y li le.
3. O ganiza ional measu es
The implemen a ion o Communi y egula ions has mean a eo ganiza ion
o adminis a i e o ganig ams and bu eauc a ic bodies in esponse o he new
equi emen s.
The as majo i y o he o ganiza ional ules a e di ec ed owa ds he
es ablishmen o mechanisms o coo dina ion which aim o achie e a mo e p ecise
dis ibu ion o esponsabili ies o each o he minis e ial depa men s in ol ed in
ma e s linked o he EC. They seek oo g ea e e iciency in ob aining esou ces
om he Communi y's s uc u al unds and gaining access o o he o ms o inance.
The mechanisms es ablished gene ally I ake he o m o an in e depa men al
commission o commi ee which, g ouping oge he he Gene al Di ec o s o a ious
depa men s, ca ies ou esponsabili ies o coo dina ion and planning ac i i ies
ela ed o he EC. In gene al, he depa men o P esidency cen alizes he
ins i u ional ela ions wi h he Eu opean au ho i ies.
4. Links wi h Communi y and in e es g oups
The in eg a ion o in e es g oups h ough in o ma ion and consul ing
p ocedu es is seen as a poli ical p io i y by mos o egional adminis a ions. In
Ca alonia, he "Pa ona Ca alà p o-Eu opa", a public conso ium es ablished in
1982, akes ca e o o ganizing, p omo ing and coo dina ing ac i i ies linked o he
Communi y and o he Eu opean o ganiza ions. Chai ed by he P esiden o
Ca alonia, he "Pa ona " assembles ep esen a i es o Ca alan public and p i a e
Uni e si ies, Sa e banks, Chambe o T ade and Indus y, Local Go e nmen
associa ions and he Townhall o Ba celona. The body's council is o ganized in
h ee sec ions: he academic, he pa liamen a ian and he socio-economic, in which
pa icipa e en e p eneu ial o ganiza ions, p o essional associa ions and unions,
including Ca alan ep esen a i es o Communi y lobbies and o icials in B ussels.
The main ac i i ies o he "Pa ona " a e he p epa a ion o cou ses and
semina s abou he EC especially add essed o economic and p o essional sec o s;
he di usion o he R&D Communi y p og ammes; and a consul ing se ice called
Table2

Table3
Table4
Table5
NOTES
(1) This pape summa izes he Spanish con ibu ion o a esea ch p ojec di ec ed by Robe Leona di
(Eu opean Uni e si y Ins i u e o Flo ence) on "Regions and Eu opean In eg a ion". The p ojec ,
ca ied ou om 1989 un il 1990, in ol ed he su ey o eli e opinion based on ex ensi e ieldwo k
and da a ga he ing in ou coun ies (G eece, I aly, Po ugal and Spain) and he wo cases o
Co sica and No he n I eland o a o al o wen y- wo egional si es.
(2) The Basque Coun y and Na a a e ained hei adi ional inancial ag eemen (“concie o
económico") wi h he cen al s a e which allows hem o collec hei own axes and pass on an
ag eed sum o he cen e.
(3) Acco ding o sec ion 155 o he Spanish Cons i u ion he cen al au ho i ies, wi h he p e ious
ag eemen o he absolu e majo i y o he Sena e, a e allowed o cons ain he au onomous
go e nmen s o ul il hei cons i u ional du ies.
(4) In case 252/88 he Cons i u ional Cou has conside ed ha he applica ion o Communi y Law 'did
no al e he in e nal s uc u e o dis ibu ion o compe ences be ween he cen al s a e and he
au onomous go e nmen s.
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