Federalism
Federalism in Europe
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Description of Federalism
The Concise Publication of the European Union describes federalism in the following terms: [1] To opponents of a European superstate, federalism denotes a political system dominated by supranational bodies or by the majority will of European governments, at the expense of the individual nation state (see more in this European publication). In deference to this fear, expressed most cogently by the UK and Denmark, the F-word was eliminated from the Maastricht Treaty, a concession rated highly by Prime Minister John Major but regarded with amused contempt by President François Mitterrand, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Commission President Jacques Delors.
The day of the nation state is over. Roman Herzog, president of Germany, September 1996
To those accustomed to a federal structure, federalism denotes the sharing of power between the constituent parts and the centre - that is, the converse of a fully centralised political system. Many Germans therefore affect puzzlement at British concerns, some going so far as to say that, far from resisting it, the UKought logically to make federalism its objective.
Although federation is too ill-defined a concept to bear the weight of close analysis, it clearly implies a union of some sort. Quebec, Scotland, California and Bavaria, for example, each has autonomy in varying degree, but they are not considered sovereign states since the superior authority in most policy areas rests with government in Ottawa, London, Washington and Berlin. A confederation is looser than a federation, allowing more power to the subordinate political units, yet even in confederate Switzerland the ultimate right of decision generally belongs to Berne.
The powers traditionally allocated to the federal authorities cover defence, foreign policy, the currency, central taxation, the supreme court of appeal, the signing of treaties, nationwide legislation, immigration, policing and citizenship. The EU has already taken over many of these areas from the member states and has ambitions towards the remainder (see more in this European publication). Against that background, semantic quibbles about the meaning of federalism are trivial compared with substantive discussion of the EU's treaties, laws and institutional arrangements. (See also Sovereignty.)
Resources
Notas y References
Based on the book "A Concise Publication of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein", by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)
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