05-07-2003 23:34									#31
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Possibly...

	05-07-2003 23:41									#32
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The EU needs to be more like the US. You'll need a Federation, not a Confederation.

	05-07-2003 23:46									#33
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Che

	05-07-2003 23:53									#34
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quote: Originally posted by Colon How much autonomy do the (ordinary) departments in France have?

	06-07-2003 00:41									#35
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But Az, you don't want a federation. You want evil totalitarian centralism. A federation would place much more power in the regions at the expense of the national states...

	06-07-2003 00:44									#36
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quote: Originally posted by Buck Birdseed But Az, you don't want a federation. You want evil totalitarian centralism. A federation would place much more power in the regions at the expense of the national states...

how much is the USA your kind of Federation?

	06-07-2003 00:46									#37
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If you're in favour of regionalism, one doesn't need to create a huge overarching superstate to devolve power to the regions...

	06-07-2003 00:52									#38
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Sure one does. How else would you connect, say, the Basques in France to their compatriots in Spain? Or the large hungarian-speaking minority in Slovakia to the ones in Romania, Serbia, Hungary etc.? The EU ensures cross-border connections, finances projects, puts pressure on member states to devolve according to natural regional patterns (France decentralising without the EU? laughable!) and has the very idea of an interconnected Europe of the Regions imprinted on it in a way the national states never did in hundreds of years of history.

	06-07-2003 13:01									#39
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quote: How much autonomy do the (ordinary) departments in France have?

Not much. Their main purpose is to manage things such as junior highschools, small roads and infrastructure. There's an official called the "préfet" who represents the will of the central State, and who's responsible for anything involving the police or public safety.
That's because there are several layers of local administration: communes, departments, and regions, which each have a part in the local responsiblity. The most influent is the commune, which has much decision power and the ability to raise taxes, and the region is second.

The Corsican referendum, if accepted, will give control of the universities to the Corsican parliament, while it was the monopoly of the State before.

	06-07-2003 13:08									#40
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Bleh. now I know why Buck is so happy. Yuck.

	06-07-2003 16:55									#41
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quote: Originally posted by Azazel Bleh. now I know why Buck is so happy. Yuck.

Which is ?

	06-07-2003 16:57									#42
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ask him about his political beliefs, and you'll see.

	06-07-2003 21:36									#43
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I'm not particularly happy, seems a bit of a crap compromise on full autonomy to me. Will Corsican be taught in schools? I doubt it.

	06-07-2003 21:56									#44
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quote: Originally posted by Buck Birdseed Will Corsican be taught in schools?

Yes, except if the parents ask for the opposite.

	06-07-2003 21:59									#45
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According to partial results (the vote ended an hour ago), the "No" would win with a very small margin. But the definitive outcome should be known in an hour.

	07-07-2003 04:41									#46
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The "no" wins with 50.98%. 60% of Corsican voters bothered to vote. This is an utter defeat for the abusive pace of decentralisation, for the terrorists, and for the government

	07-07-2003 05:00									#47
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quote: EU is being a rather lousy empire.

It's divide and conquer. People from the various minority national groups tend to feel more European than the larger national groups. It's kind of underhand and insidious, although it's not exactly wrong.