EUROPEANIZATION

EUROPEANIZATION

One of our goals is to explain to what extent do the EU institutions decide on the content of the policies implemented in Spain, as a consequence of the delegatio n of powers in favor of the EU.

Which are the most Europeaniz ed policies? Has the percentage of laws decided in Brussels and then approv ed a t the Spanish parliament and other regional parliaments significantly rais ed? In order to answer these questions, we have created a database on the Eur opean content of all the legislative initiatives entered at the national and regional (Catalonia) levels, since 1986 up to the present times.

EUROPEANIZATION

In a context where the EU defines increasingly the content of policies, the lack of parliamentary control in all European issues can result in a weakening of th e accountability mechanisms and democratic control. If the ever-growing delegation of powers towards the EU is accompanied, as it is in the Spanish ca se, by a political decentralization in favor of the regions, the absence of suffici ent participation mechanisms can debilitate the ties which link the policy makers and the voters.

Has the control on the parliamentary groups regarding European matter s increased at the same pace as the Europeanization of the legislative ag enda? Under which circumstances do the regional parties prioritize the national or regional parliaments to exercise the control over the policies and decisions adopted in Europe? Do governments use secondary legislation to comply w ith their commitments with the EU, avoiding in this manner the normal processing and debating of some issues on the parliamentary arena?

EUROPEANIZATION

The impact of the Europeanization process on the party competition has been analyzed mainly from the electoral perspective and ta king into account as main explanatory variable the positioning of the parties towards the European integration. However, the political competition does not happen during the election period alone, but also during the legislature, in the parliamentar y arena. Under which circumstances do European matters enter the agenda of parliamentary groups in countries such as Spain, with no euro-sceptic parti es? Cases like Spain show that the Europeanization process imposes limitatio ns and restrictions to political actors, while also creating opportunities for them to achieve their goals. The parties can, for example, ask questions pro posed as control inquiries on European issues which also interest them in order t o give them visibility in a debate they wouldn ’ t have otherwise. They also can present their domestic issues, strategies and political decisions with a European fram e, to legitimize them; the independence process in Catalonia is prove of that. The groups can also utilize European matters and the opportunities the multi- level governance scenario brings, as a way to build strategies such as credit taking o r blame shifting. The examination of these issues is especially interesting in th e southern European countries, where the crisis has transformed the incentives that the parties have to introduce European matters on the agenda. Has the conflict and control over EU matters increased in Spain, due to the economic crisis?

EUROPEANIZATION

The research on the media coverage of the European issues is relevant b ecause the media are the main source of information for the general public, espe cially the European citizens, on the EU itself, its policies and its institutions. Our m ain goal is to explain under which circumstances the European matters enter the media ’ s agenda, to what extent this coverage affects the perception among the publics and the effects this coverage has on the representatives ’ behavior.

Our analysis is focused on the impact of the times of crisis, such as the economic crisis, the negotiations on the European budgets or the processes of expansio n of the EU. We also focus on the capacity of the leaders, the political groups, th e labor unions, the interest groups and the social movements to insert Europe an matters within the national political agendas. Our aim is to contribute to the knowledge on the functioning of the media, as well as learning the conditions in which the visibility and politicization of EU related issues raises.