Chapter 8 the Spanish autonomous communities in the EU: The evolution from the competitive regionalism to a cooperative system

Abstract

The Autonomic State (Estado Autonómico) designed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, is a complicated system of intergovernmental relations which emphasises the institutional autonomy of the sub-national level of government from the central State. The distribution of competences is made sector by sector (sectoral distribution). The 1978 Constitution incorporates a list of the sectors in which the Autonomous Communities can assume competences (Art. 148) and a list of exclusive competences of the central State (Art. 149). © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.