European Policy Analysis
Table 1 includes the attendance data for the three conferences analyzed according to the rank of their participants . In the cases of the Health and Environment Conferences , a differentiation is made of the periods when different regulations are in force . Given the overall comparative figures for the three conferences , it can be observed that the highest percentages of attendance occur at the time when delegative practices are most permissive . In fact , failure to attend reaches its highest levels after the approval of regulatory modifications , with the last period analyzed of the Environment Conference showing 33.3 % non-attendance . In turn , progress toward the goal that justified the change in the regulations does not appear to be reflected fully in the results obtained . The impact of these measures had conflicting effects . While the percentage of attendance by regional ministers increased at the Health Council plenary sessions ( from 82.5 % to
In the evaluation made by interviewees , it can be observed that nonattendance or delegation to people below the rank of regional minister is presented as a way of showing disagreement with the homogenizing model that the Conference , in their opinion , represents . In this sense , the words of a nationalist representative of the Basque Government are highly illustrative :
… my position in this regard was not to attend the Education Conference , unless it was something very important , really important politically . (…) So , we wanted to maintain , if we could , the bilateral relationship with the minister of the moment , rather than go to a conference where attention would be spread among 17 Autonomous Regions . ( Interview
1 )
From his perspective , bilateralism should be the way to manage territorial interests between the central administration and those communities , like the Basque Country , Catalonia , and Galicia , that have a strong identity profile . For those actors ,
87.9 %) at the Environment Conference this figure decreased significantly ( from 75.6 % to 50.9 %). the Sectoral Conferences reflected a rather futile attempt by the central elites to dilute their particularities in the melting pot of
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