1201 | 984 | Sewing up the territory: regional cooperation agreements in decentralised Spain | Ramon Galindo Caldés
This progressive differentiation of differentiated regional legal systems in Spain especially affects the inter-regional border areas, as two legal systems and two logics of political action coincide in the same geographical space. These areas are endowed with geographical unity or have strong socio-economic or cultural ties, but receive differentiated regulatory treatment (e. g. environmental legislation). On the other hand, Spanish regional authorities have powers over relevant public services (education, health, emergency management, firefighting, waste management, transport or tourism). The deepening of decentralisation requires horizontal cooperation mechanisms to limit the impact of dysfunctions or contradictions between regional regulations and between regional policies. For almost all authors cooperation based on inter-regional agreements does not work properly, due, among other factors, to a lack of “federal” culture. While this statement is intuitively true, there is no reliable source to back it up with solid data. This is because the available information is fragmented or incomplete, and because cooperation also takes place through other instruments such as protocols. This paper aims to show unpublished quantitative data on the protocols and agreements signed between the regions. More specifically, we analyse the stages in which cooperation has been most active and in which sectors it has been most intense. We also highlight the degree of cooperation in each of the interregional spaces. The different regions in Spain cannot be governed as isolated “continents”, but must fit together as pieces in the articulation of the State. A better understanding of the reality of horizontal cooperation is the first step towards identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the system, and addressing effective changes. In this sense, improving cooperation not only benefits the governance of interregional border areas, but is also an effective instrument for “sewing up” the different regions in a decentralised state.
Ramon Galindo Caldés
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
ID Abstract: 984