COMUNIDADES AUTÓNOMAS, TRIBUNALES DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA Y RESPONSABILIDAD POR EL INCUMPLIMIENTO AUTONÓMICO DEL DERECHO COMUNITARIO. REFLEXIONES A PARTIR DE LA PRÁCTICA RECIENTE

Abstract

The consequences of Spain’s membership of the European Union are not wellreflected in the Constitution. The Autonomous Communities are not mentionedin article 93 of the Constitution, which refers explicitly to Europeanaffairs.The aim of this article is to examine, in current practice, two of the Europeanissues arising from Spanish membership that are of concern to the AutonomousCommunities, insofar as their political autonomy is significantly affected. Thefirst is the locus standi of the Autonomous Communities in terms of the jurisdictionalinstitutions of the European Union, since they cannot defend theirpowers judicially when affected by an EU regulation as easily as the centralpowers of the State can. This is because they have no legitimate status as partiesin the European appeal process, which in turn makes it very difficult forthem to take issue with measures which are not aimed at them. The otherissue is the responsibility of the Autonomous Communities for non-compliance with EU law at internal level, because it is they who have to deal withthe consequences arising this such non-compliance.The final section considers how these two areas have been regulated in thereforms to the statutes of the Autonomous Communities which are either inforce or in the process of being enacted. Particular reference is made to theCatalan case, in order to determine how far the provisions of the statutescorrespond to the legal regime and practice followed in these two areas.

Keywords

• CCAA
• active legitimation
• subcentral participation
• european union
• international responsibility
• noncompliance of the community law
• statute of autonomy