T.A.J.A. Vandamme

From Federated Federalism to Harmonized Federalism? The Case of EU Subsidiarity Scrutiny in Spain and Belgium

In political science literature, federal systems may be classified as ‘dual’ or ‘co-operative’ polities. This contribution further explores this dichotomy between dual and co-operative systems from the perspective of Spain and Belgium, two EU member states that may be qualified as ‘dual’ systems. These countries are said to have developed more co-operative systems of government in order to meet the exigencies of participation in EU policy-building and its implementation. This research will be revisited by looking into the way these two countries have dealt with the implementation of the Lisbon Protocol on Subsidiarity. Is the ‘EU-induced’ co-operative trend indeed confirmed in these countries or is it time to reassess earlier findings?

The European Council and the national executives: segmentation, consolidation and legitimation

Of the three branches of government traditionally distinguished since Montesquieu, two have received ample scholarly attention in their relation with the European Union. A plethora of books and articles have been written on the role and position of national courts and national parliaments in Europe. As to the former, the interaction of national courts with the Court of Justice of the European Union is still massively researched. As to the latter, it has been thoroughly analysed how national parliaments were sidelined from the start of the integration process, only to regain lost ground later. In particular, attempts to include the national parliaments in EU decision-making, via the renewed Subsidiarity Protocol among other ways, have attracted numerous research activities.

Prochain Arrêt: La Belgique!: explaining recent preliminary references of the Belgian Constitutional Court

Belgian Constitutional Court beats all in referrals to EU Court – How come? – Origin and evolution of Belgian federalism – Permanent reform – Modest origins of present constitutional court – Use of Belgian and EC law to widen its channels – Identification of Belgian constitutional rules with EC rules – Statutory extension of Courts powers – Use of techniques in referral of Advocaten voor de Wereld – Translation of national constitutional issue into a European one – EC law-driven constitutional evolution in Belgium – Eventual undermining of Belgian constitutional principles

EU directives and multi-level governance - can lessons be drawn from cooperative federalism?

In this contribution, an attempt will be made to draw lines between the concepts of (cooperative) federalism, multi-level governance (MLG) and the European directive as a multi-tiered instrument. Can directives be regarded as federal by nature? And if so, what normative conclusions might one draw therefrom in terms of their conceptual shape? Although the concept of federalism has the downside of being less inclusive than MLG (for example, non-state actors and civil society), the argument will be made that the ‘federal label’ is not the final destination, but rather a possible bridge or ‘missing link’ between the EU directive and its potential for MLG. Stronger guarantees for more political decision-taking on at least two levels of government could strengthen the directives function as a ‘hub’ for a constitutionally more ‘adult’ MLG. These stronger guarantees could be forged through a more galvanized application of the principle of proportionality of which the EU directives would ideally be an embodiment. Achieving that will however not be an easy exercise, as one can learn from the experiences in Germany with the Rahmengesetz, an instrument designed to embody proportionality ‘German style’.

Towards a citizenship of the association? On the future of non-discrimination, preferential treatment and the standstill clauses in th EU-Turkey association regime

This chapter proceeds with a short explanation of choice for the concept of association citizenship and gives an overview of the provisions in the association arrangements that are relevant for progressive inclusion of Turkish nationals in a citizenship framework. It argues that the European Union (EU) citizenship regime should be used as comparator for the position of Turkish nationals under the Association regime. The chapter introduces the concept of substantive equality that is used as a tool to measure progressive inclusion of Turkish nationals in the citizenship framework. It includes the actual analysis of several recent cases on the relevant provisions in the association arrangements. The standstill clauses and the non-discrimination clauses have generated impressive case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Finally, the chapter answers the question whether association citizenship is an appropriate label under the EU-Turkey association regime and points at future challenges. Keywords: CJEU; EU-Turkey association regime; European Union (EU) citizenship; non-discrimination clauses; standstill clauses; Turkish nationals

[Review of: R. Schütze (2009) From dual to cooperative federalism: the changing structure of European law]

dialogue and deliberation across sectarian boundaries’ (p. 189). He indicates a number of solutions that might allow it to overcome the current institutionalisation of ethnoreligious communities, like a super majority (e.g., 65 percent) for forming the executive, or informal conventions instead of rigid quotas for sharing power. There is one aspect that has been often mentioned in the book but that, in my view, would have deserved a more systematic and comparative treatment. It concerns the role of ‘others’ in consociational regimes. Indeed, the consociational institutions in places like Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium or South Tyrol are based upon the fundamental premise that the society is composed of groups rather than individual citizens. As a result, the ‘others’ – i.e., citizens who cannot or do not want to identify with any group that has been officially recognised – are often discriminated against. See, for example, the 2009 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (Sejdic and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina) or the South Tyrol’s ‘ethnic objectors’ (obiettori etnici), led by the late MEP Alexander Langer. According to Wilson, Northern Ireland’s consociational regime can be criticised for similar reasons. He quotes (p. 184) the 2006 and 2008 surveys showing that, for the first time, more respondents (40-44 per cent) ticketed the ‘neither’ box and, thus, refused to accept a ‘unionist’ (i.e., Protestant) or a ‘nationalist’ (i.e., Catholic) identity tag. But the problem is, again, that this spontaneous abandoning of sectarian identities is not reflected in the institutions of Northern Ireland, for they remain deeply rooted in and around group identities. To sum up, the main strength of the book is Wilson’s ability to identify and tackle the current dilemmas that are embedded in the institutions of Northern Ireland, by combining the traditional academic approach (both theoretical and comparative) and journalistic enquiry. Its principal shortcoming is the lack of a systematic analysis of the role of ‘others’ in power-sharing regimes.