Barrué-Belou, Rémi (2013) Evolution of intergovernmental relations and the strengthening of autonomy. In: The Ways of Federalism in Western Countries and the Horizons of Territorial Autonomy in Spain Lopez Besaguren, Alberto and Escajedo San Epifanio, Leire (eds.) Springer. Berlin pp. 149-163. ISBN 978 3 642 27716 0

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Abstract

Intergovernmental relations can have a new voice in the federalism. Dualistic federalism has given way to Cooperative federalism. As a consequence, constitutional distribution of legislative responsibilities has become unclear. This evolution, over time, has amounted to an overrun of responsibilities amongst the different government orders. One such overrun, has occurred in the legislative area of government. That is, the consequence of this change in federalism, particularly in federalism’s cooperations and responsibilities, has spread to the financial sectors of society. Cooperation with respect to financial policies is an important step in the evolution of federalism, as it has given power to some state governments to get financial help, such as grants, and to realize projects. This cooperation has given autonomy to many states, thanks to block grants from various federal governments. Such cooperation has occurred in many federations, including but not limited to : the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Spain is a European example. With regard to Spain, this cooperation took place both with the central government, and with the European Union, as well as with the subsidiarity principle. Today, the overrun of responsibilities from the legislative point of view seems to be an outdated problem, and especially as it concerns the issue of defending state autonomy. The actual power to focus on, when attempting to defend a state’s autonomy, is the states’ financial power. Strengthening of autonomy must be organized from a financial point of view. If legislative powers are not allocated to one specific order of government, then the legislature is given the discretion to act in financial matters, concerning all areas which are not otherwise prohibited.