The debate on the role and functions of the local authorities in the EU decision-making process occupies a central position in the framework of the institutional reform of the European Union. With the aim of giving a voice to local communities, the Treaty of Maastricht of 1992 established the Committee of the Regions, a consultative body charged with the task of expressing opinions on the legislative proposals of the Executive. Despite such consultation, the reticence of the central Administrations to involve the lower levels in EU negotiations has led to a situation in which the Regions themselves in particular those endowed with constitutional powers have difficulty in representing their own needs. The problem is posed both for the Regions of federal States (Germany, Belgium, Austria), and for the Regions of so-called semifederal States (Spain, Italy) or States that manage relations with the territorial communities according to the centralist method (France, Greece, UK). So deep is the concern being felt in the Regions that the “regionalist lobby”, very active in Brussels, has repeatedly sounded alarm bells. The European Parliament recently approved the report of Giorgio Napolitano on the role of regional and local powers in European construction, in which it is emphasized that the future European Constitution must take into due consideration the “key role that local communities play in participative democracy and in achieving the Union’s objectives”. The next plenary session of the Convention on the future of Europe will be dedicated to the discussion of the “regional and local dimension in Europe”.
