Spanish regions and the 1993 community challenge

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. REFERENCES MUROZ MACHADO, S. (1982), De echo Público de las Comunidades Au ónomas. Mad id, Ci i as, Vol. II. AJA, E. & o he s (1990), In o me Pi i Sunye sob e las Au onomías. Ba celona, Ci i as. TORNOS, J. & o he s (1988), In o me sob e las Au onomías. Mad id, Ci i as. SCHWAN, H. H. (1982), Die Deu sche Bundeslände im En scheidungs-sys em de Eu opäischen Gemeinscha en. Be lin, Duncke und Humblo . MERLONI, F. (1985), "I alian egions in he EC", in M. Kea ing & B. Jones (eds.), Regions in he Eu opean Communi y. Ox o d, Cla endon P ess. VERWEYEN, J. L. (1985) Les au o i és égionales dans le p ocessus d’élabo a ion des poli iques communau ai es. Maas ich , Ins i u Eu opéen d'Adminis a ion Publique (unpublished). MORATA, F. (1987), Au onomia Regional i In eg ació Eu opea. Ba celona, Ins i u d'Es udis Au onòmics. PUTNAM, R.D., LEONARDI, R. & NANETTI, R. (1988), "Ins i u ional Pe o mance and Poli ical Cul u e: some puzzles abou he powe o he pas ", Go e nance, 3, Jul. SCHUMANN, w. & HANNELECK, H. (1983), "Die Be eiligung de Lände an de EG Poli i k de Bundes: P oblem und al e na i en", z. . Pa lamen s agen.