Parlamento do Mercosul, integração e déficit democrático

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Parlamento do Mercosul: mudança ou continuidade?

The parliamentary representation in the Southern Cone integration is the main issue in this article, which analyzes some implications of the institutionalization of Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur). Consolidation and deepening of the integration process are related to the very weakness of congressional action under the Joint Parliamentary Committee and even the Parlasur. The hypothesis is that the creation of the Mercosur Parliament could contribute to the integration process only insofar as it could overcome the limitations experienced by the Joint Parliamentary Commission and go forward in building a democratic and representative body of regional integration.

The scrutiny of the principle of subsidiarity by autonomous regional parliaments with particular reference to the participation of the Parliament of Catalonia in the early warning system

The purpose of this article is to offer a practical approach to the new European dimension for regional parliaments signified by the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. The parliamentary scrutiny of subsidiarity by way of the early warning system has assigned a new mission to legislative assemblies with the aim of reinforcing the intervention of regions in the drafting of policies by Union institutions. In the Spanish case, the institutionalisation of this mechanism came about with Act nº 24/2009, which attributes to the Joint Committee for the European Union, in the name of the Cortes Generales [the Spanish Parliament], the function of receiving the proposals for legislative acts by the EU and transferring them to the regional parliaments in order for the latter to issue, in a brief period of four weeks, a report on compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. The majority of regional parliaments have also carried out normative reforms to regulate the procedure of participation in the early warning system.

El Nuevo acuerdo de financiación regional: un análisis de urgencia ADENDA

This note contains some addenda to a recent paper (de la Fuente, 2009) that analyzed the new Spanish system of regional financing on the basis of the agreement between the central and regional Governments reached last July. The note updates my previous discussion after examining the bill that has been recently sent to Parliament by the Government and identifies some technical problems of the Government's proposal.

Sobre la puesta en marcha del nuevo sistema de financiación regional: proyecciones para 2009 y algunas reflexiones

This paper presents an estimate of the financial results of the new Spanish system of regional financing in 2009. According to these estimates, some regions will experience sharp reductions in their adjusted financing per capita between 2007 and 2009 which may be very difficult to accept. This would mean that there will be strong pressures for the reform of the new system from the very beginning. To avoid, or at least mitigate, this problem it would be helpful to introduce some changes in the bill currently being discussed by the Parliament. The necessary changes would not alter the nucleus of the recent agreement.

The Gulf Cooperation Council as a New Regional Power: Time for the EU to Propose a Strategic Partnership. Bruges Regional Integration & Global Governance Papers 3/2012, November 2012

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a de facto regional power in the Arab world. Its role has been crucial in some of the outcomes of the Arab Spring. The GCC countries have been very pragmatic in dealing with the uprisings, avoiding any revolutionary spill-over throughout the Gulf region. This paper examines to what extent the policies of the European Union (EU) in the Gulf have changed since the beginning of the Arab Spring. It argues that despite the calls by the European Parliament and by the High Representative Baroness Ashton to improve the relationship, the EU’s support for a new policy in the Gulf after the Arab Spring is stalling, and little new or concrete has been achieved. The paper concludes that the Union needs a reinforced partnership that merges the various EU policies in the region into a single strategic partnership with the Arab countries.

Implicações nacionais da integração regional: as eleições diretas do parlamento do Mercosul

O processo de institucionalização do MERCOSUL verificado nos últimos anos aumentou o peso da integração regional nas políticas internas dos Estados-membros. No caso brasileiro, o projeto de lei que regulamenta as eleições diretas para o Parlamento do MERCOSUL (Parlasul) em 2014 é um exemplo dessa influência, porque inclui aspectos que estão relacionados às discussões acerca da reforma do sistema político brasileiro, tema gerador de intenso debate e polêmica dentro do Congresso Nacional. Este artigo discute os possíveis impactos que a sua aprovação terá na condução da reforma política no Brasil, partindo da hipótese de que o referido projeto representa um transbordamento da reforma política brasileira para o plano regional. Supomos que sua aprovação pode se tornar um ensaio da reforma política planejada, ao executar no plano regional mudanças ainda em discussão no legislativo brasileiro. Lembramos que a decisão e aprovação dos critérios para realização das eleições diretas do Parlasul é de competência de cada Estado-membro.