‘Cognitive Europeanization’ and the territorial effects of multilevel policy transfer: Local development in French and Spanish regions

Abstract

This article explores the process of ‘cognitive Europeanization’ of territorial policies and how this process is impacting on multilevel governance. Over the last two decades, a number of European spatial programmes have developed similar norms of action at the local and regional level. Focusing on the interactive character of the Europeanization process, the author considers sub-national actors as key elements in the adaptation of domestic political systems to these European norms. Drawing on a comparative study of territorial policies in France and Spain, the article illustrates how the policy transfer of EU-level norms is producing structural changes in territorial governance. Socialized to a European model of local development, it is argued, both regional actors and regional institutions are Europeanizing their policies without EU legislation.

Keywords:

• Europeanization
• multilevel governance
• regions
• policy transfer
• local development
• territorial policies

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Caitriona Carter, Sebastien Guigner, Stelios Stavridis, Andy Smith and two anonymous referees for comments of earlier versions.

Notes

¹he ‘pays’ and the ‘comarcas’ are similar to the ‘kreise’, which is the intermediate level between the municipality and the Land in Germany.

²rance and Spain traditionally have three political territorial levels: the ‘communes’ and the ‘municipios’; the ‘départements’ and the ‘provincias’; the ‘conseils régionaux’ and the ‘autonomous communities’. In France, the départements are mainly relevant to implement social and education, road, rural and environmental policies, while the conseils régionaux are mainly relevant in economic development, planning, vocational training and rail policies. In this framework, each level seeks yet to increase its competences. While in Spain, all the autonomous communities do not have the same competences. They can use their legislative power in many sectors (social, health and economic policies, tourist and rural policies, road and rail policies, education and university policies etc.) The provincias have in comparison a weaker power essentially localised in road policies and community facilities policies. In addition, new territorial administrative institutions emerged two decades ago in France and Spain. These institutions are inter-communal structures. In France, these institutions, named the ‘communautés de communes’ in small areas (less than 50,000 inhabitants) and the ‘communautés d'agglomération’ in large areas (more than 50,000 inhabitants), can have their own taxation and important legal competences in economic development and public services. The same distinction is made in Spain with on the one hand the ‘mancocommunidades’ in small areas and, on the other hand, the ‘areas metropolitanas’ in large urban areas.

³ost of the French regions developed pays policy. The development of comarcas policies is more contrasted and depends on the autonomous communities.

⁴rittany and Galicia have a comparable area and population: 27,200 Km2 compared to 29,200 Km2, and 3,000,000 inhabitants vs 2,800,000. Brittany has four départements (Finistère, Côtes-d'Armor, Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine) and Galicia four provincias (Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra and A Coruňa).

⁵t the beginning of the 1970s, the francoist central administration also studied the extent to which it would be possible to use the ‘comarca’ as an instrument for an administrative reform.

⁶or Leader 1 (1991–93), the European Commission selected 217 projects in the European Union, of which 52 were in Spain and 40 in France. For Leader + (2000–06), the European Commission selected 938 projects of which 145 were in Spain and 140 in France.

⁷o, each European programme on territorial development has its transnational network: Interact for Interreg (community initiative for interregional cooperation) Urbact for Urban (community initiative for sustainable development in the troubled urban districts).

⁸he European Commission finances other networks, for example the European association of local development agencies, the association Innovating regions etc.

⁹ee for example the EAILD website, www.aeidl.be/fr.

¹⁰Minister during the Franco regime, Manuel Fraga Iribarne is the historic leader of the Spanish right. Since 1989 he has been president of the Xunta and the Galician popular party (Partido popular gallego, PPG).

¹¹Andres Precedo Ledo, well-known geographer, became its new general secretary.

¹²At the end of the 1960s, in Brittany, various political and economic actors structured committees of local development on the CELIB model: the ‘Société d'économie mixte d'études du nord-Finistère’ (SEMENF) in 1963 by Alexis Gourvennec, the ‘comité d'expansion économique de Cornouailles’ in 1964 by Louis Le Pensec, the ‘comité d'expansion du Mené’ (CEM) by Paul Houée in 1965, the ‘comité de coordination et d'aménagement du pays de Redon’ (COCAPAR) in 1969 and the ‘comité interdépartemental de développement économique du centre-ouest Bretagne’ in 1970.

¹³‘With the 1994-1999 European programmes, there was an important development of European structural funds. We integrated this dimension in our policies because we are one of the main financial partner on this territory’. Interview, Conseil régional de Bretagne, January 1998.

¹⁴This service consists of geographers, urbanists and economists staff administred by the ‘secretario general de la planificación y del desarollo comarcal’, Andres Precedo Ledo, himself directly linked to the presidency of the regional government (the Xunta).

¹⁵In Galicia, there are on average 7 municipalities by comarca, whereas in Brittany there are 60 municipalities on average by pays. This difference can be explained by the number of municipalities in these two regions. Brittany has 1,268 municipalities vs 350 for Galicia.

¹⁶This association was originally a Leader group created in 1991.

¹⁷The comarca of Terra Cha is located in the province of Lugo and pays of Centre-ouest Bretagne in the centre of Brittany running from three Breton départements (Finistère, Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan).

¹⁸The comarca of Valdeorrras is located in the province of Orense and the pays of Trégor-Goëlo in the département of Côtes-d'Armor.

¹⁹Among the leaders who have strongly supported this policy, there were notably a right-wing councillor, Ambroise Guellec, a socialist councillor, Jacques Faucheux, a communist councillor Serge Morin, and an ecologist one, Michel Balbot.

²⁰Interview, Conseil régional de Bretagne, February 1999.

²¹‘Here localism is the prime feature of territorial politics. The fundación comarcal changed the practices. The local councillors speak now to each other. Private actors, associations are emerging. Our role is well known now, we are able to have a territorial awareness. The success in our Leader + application in 1999 is the best sign of this change, I think, even if it remains many things to do.’ Interview, Fundación comarcal de Terra Cha, June 1999.

²²It is in Brittany that the first ‘communauté de communes’ was born in France (Nevers, 1998).

²³In Brittany, 64% of the municipalities are integrated into inter-communal structures with their own taxation, the French national average being 31.4%.

²⁴‘We had the idea to do here what they have done in Catalonia, that's to say to create a new administrative level in the comarcas’. Interview, Sociedad de desarollo comarcal, June 1999.

²⁵The Regional and Territorial Administration Act in 1992 (loi ATR), the Regional Planning Act in 1995 (loi d'orientation sur l'aménagement du territoire LOADT) and in 1999 (loi d'orientation sur l'aménagement durable du territoire). The debates of each law, like the recent debate around the decentralization reform led by the Prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, have shown the opposition between politicians who are in favour of inter and supra-communal co-operation and those who are status-quo followers.

²⁶In 2004, Spanish local administration (municipalities and provinces) expenditures amounted to 13.6% of all public expenditure against 26.1% for autonomous communities.