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Brussels between Bern and Berlin: Comparative Federalism Meets the European Union
Author(s) -
Börzel Tanja A.,
Hosli Madeleine O.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.46
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1468-0491
pISSN - 0952-1895
DOI - 10.1111/1468-0491.00213
Subject(s) - federalism , european union , multi level governance , delegation , fiscal federalism , legitimacy , european integration , political science , politics , representation (politics) , corporate governance , political economy , public administration , decentralization , sociology , economics , law , international trade , finance
In the current debate on the future European order, the European Union (EU) is often described as an “emerging federation.” This article claims that federalism is not exclusively useful in deliberating about the future of the EU. Non‐statecentric conceptions of federalism provide a better understanding of the current structure and functioning of the European system of multilevel governance than most theories of European integration and international relations do. We combine political and economic perspectives of federalism to analyze the “balancing act” between effective political representation and efficient policy‐making in the EU. Drawing on the examples of Germany and Switzerland in particular, we argue that the increasing delegation of powers to the central EU level needs to be paralleled by strengthened patterns of fiscal federalism and an empowered representation of functional interests at the European level. Without such “rebalancing,” the current legitimacy problems of the EU are likely to intensify.