European Regional activation towards Brussels: From the heart to the Ultra-periphery of Europe. Walloon and Canary Islands’ strategies

Abstract

Wallonia and the Canary Islands are both regions with legislative capacities within the European Union (EU). They have traditionally shared serious socio-economic deficits. Therefore, while a new European Regional policy was being designed, they both built regional strategies in order to extract as much as they can from the EU. How far are these Sub-State activations towards Brussels linked to regional gains (outputs) from the EU? How different are both mobilisations? How can the higher degree of success of the Canary Islands be explained, taking into account that the Archipelago is far away from the heart of Europe and Wallonia is within it? The research, based on a qualitative analysis method, will be carried out through findings about the regional mechanisms developed to influence the European institutions: the participation (direct and non direct) within the Council of Ministers, the Committee of the Regions, the regional interaction with the European Commission, the establishment of representative bodies in Brussels and the participation within interregional associations.