The Impact of the European Union on Sub-National Mobilization in A Unitary State: The Case of Estonia

Abstract

The discussion of multi-level governance and sub-national mobilization has become a critical case for those concerned with the political and institutional consequences of European integration. The evidence so far indicates that the EU impact on the empowerment of the sub-national level has not been as uniform within member states as the multi-level governance concept traditionally would assume. This article explores the Europeanization impact on sub-national mobilization in Estonia. The results of the study address the factors affecting the emergence of multi-level governance and provide a foundation for the analysis of the possible wider applicability of these manifestations to a wider set of countries with similar territorial and political structures.

Keywords:

• Europeanization
• sub-national mobilization
• multi-level governance
• partnership principle
• European Union

Notes

1. The conventional view of conditionality sees it as the primary mechanism for Europeanization in CEECs. This debate about the concept of conditionality, defined as a consensus on rules and their transmission mechanisms within the EU, with clear-cut benchmarks and consistency and continuity in the transfer of rules over time, is most comprehensively handled by Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier (2005).

2. For a discussion and examples of the EU's impact on the local and regional levels in the member states belonging to simple or compound policies, see Bache (2008, pp. 55–87).

3. The term signals greater involvement without effective influence for at least some types of new actors (Bache 1998, 2008, p. 31).

4. Official partners were only national associations of municipalities, therefore information should have reached members of regional associations of municipalities mainly through these organizations.

5. See Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Estonia, available at: http://www.fin.ee/?id=13896.

6. For example, the Ministry of Finance considered local governments together with all other social partners in order to simplify the administrative procedure of the implementation of the partnership principle (interview 16), which was constantly criticized by some representatives of regional as well as national associations of municipalities (especially interviews 2 and 11).

7. By now, all CEEC have some kind of local or regional representation in Brussels (The Liaison Office).

8. The Association of Municipalities of Estonia – 136 members (rural municipalities), average population 2,300 per member; the Association of Estonian Cities – 48 members (32 city governments, 16 rural municipalities) covering 946,970 inhabitants of the total population of Estonia (1.3 million), including the City of Tallinn with a population of ca. 400,000.

9. The claim was illustrated with the insufficient cooperation with the Ministry of Environment in commenting on the EU Waste Directive draft through and the Council of European Municipalities Regions.

10. See European Green Capital Award, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/index_en.htm.

11. Estonian Local Government portal administered by the Association of Estonian Cities, available at: http://portaal.ell.ee/.