When Dreams Come True: The Role of Powerful Regions in Future Europe, 2003. ZEI Discussion Paper: 2003, C 121

Horeth, Marcus. (2003) When Dreams Come True: The Role of Powerful Regions in Future Europe, 2003. ZEI Discussion Paper: 2003, C 121. [Discussion Paper]

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Abstract

[From the Introduction]. ....I will return to the key question: what role could powerful regions play in future Europe? Several scenarios are possible, and especially the scenarios offered by representatives of constitutional regions are rather optimistic. Their basic premise is that a strong Europe needs strong regions as its constituent units. On the one hand this perspective is justified and legitimated, and, usually the underlying arguments of this thesis are craftily developed. On the other hand, alternative, even opposite, views are also possible. In order to demonstrate this rather pessimistic argument, I imagine Europe’s future, say in the year 2007, after the new Constitutional treaty is in force as such. Under this new treaty the regions have the rights and powers, which they should have following the proposals made in the Convention’s working group documents and following some proposals of some Members of the Convention. In other words, seen from the perspective of the regions, dreams will come true. As I will be a little more critical, my reflections are labelled under the provocative title "Do Dreams or Nightmares come true? The role of powerful regions in future Europe". I will present my critical, sometimes polemic reflections in two steps. First, I will offer a short view on the "dream" expressed by the "Assembly of European Regions" in view of the hearing at the European Convention at the end of June 2002. In a second step I imagine the situation in a couple of years, after all these dreams of the regions dreams come true, and will make some critical comments on the role of powerful regions in future Europe.

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