Conflict and Cooperation in EU Policy-Making: The Case of Catalonia

Civil Society and International Governance

“…(Weaver and Rockman 1993). The subject of their interest is to study how Europe, or the system of European governance, affects other actors: states and national institutions (Olsen 2002;Börzel 2002); sub-national entities, such as regions and territorial politics (Malloy 1997;Keating 2004aKeating , 2004bDobre 2005); representation structures, such as political parties and movements (Ladrech 2001;Roller 2004); interest groups (Sroka 2004;Eising 2008); and different segments of civil society (Warleigh 2001;. This chapter focuses on non-state actors (hereafter NSAs) and their responses to Europeanization.…”

“…Without going deeper into a sociological analysis of the different types of collective identities (see Bello's chapter in this volume), it is important to note that in spite of existing differences the two types of identities are not exclusive and should be treated as a theoretical model with possible variations in a particular situational context. Sometimes the strong sense of belonging to a particular interest group can facilitate the process of Europeanization, as can be seen in the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties' pro-European strategies, designed to circumvent the central government in the policy fields connected with the EU (Roller 2004).…”

The Hour of the Regions: An Analysis of the State of Governance in the European Union

“…Following the creation of Basque and Catalan regional offices in Brussels, the central government cited a statue in the 1978 Spanish Constitution that explicitly barred the autonomous communities from entering into any "international commitments" (Roller, 2004). As Roller mentions in her work on the topic, the government went even further by taking the issue to the Spanish Parliament and courts.…”

“…On both of these occasions, the courts ruled against the government. In 1995, the courts upheld the right of the regions to establish offices in Brussels (Roller, 2004;Bourne, 2008). For the regional governments and scholars working on the topic, the courts' ruling in favor of the regions provided more evidence that the era of national governments suppressing the interactions of the regions with the EU was http://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2013/iss1/8 ending.…”

“…For example, the drafters of the Maastricht Treaty included a provision for sub-state actors to participate in the Council of Ministers. However, the Spanish government has yet to allow the Basques and Catalans, or any regional group in its borders for that matter, to take advantage of the Council of Ministers' offer (Roller, 2004). Given this, it is imperative that the EU find a way to negotiate control and delegate powers for both parties.…”