La relación directa de las Comunidades Autónomas con la Unión Europea : Las oficinas autonómicas en Bruselas

Abstract

The offices of the Autonomous Communities in Brussels are part of the set of instruments through which the regional participation in matters concerning the European Union is possible. These offices share with the rest of participation instruments, of both an internal and external nature, the common feature of their progressive improvement. In the case of the offices located in Brussels this improvement has evolved since their establishment by private law to their normalization, and their integration into the respective regional administrations, and so, the normalization of the relations with the General Administration of the State. At a time of economic crisis and deficit reduction such as the current one, there have been voices and opinions claiming the redundancy of these offices with other instruments. However, the roles they play have specific relevance for the proper performance of the Autonomous Communities duties, which is why their maintenance seems appropriate, but with an adaptation of their costs to reasonable parameters. To show the usefulness of such offices reviewing both the functions as their insertion in the corresponding autonomous communities and also a reviewing of the existing coordination mechanisms with both the General State Administration and the offices themselves together, all with the conviction of the usefulness of this instrument, especially in this difficult time in which the European Union becomes more relevant to ensure that the regions can provide the services demanded by their citizens in the best possible way.