E-book 9 Comment Poirier

Layered social federalism: from the myth of exclusive competences to the categorical imperative of cooperation Johanne Poirier (Université libre de Bruxelles, Centre de droit public) All political regimes rest on a number of founding principles, myths and taboos. In their provocative piece, Patricia Popelier, Bea Cantillon and Ninke Mussche call into question one of the founding principles on which the Belgian federal system is grounded: the exclusivity of the distribution of competences. The authors also pray for greater coordination between public actors in order to limit overlap and better articulate public action in the social protection sector. Replacing the principle of exclusivity by a larger catalogue of options is an appealing invitation to creative – and policy-oriented – thinking. The thought-provoking proposal generates a number of concerns, however. After summarizing certain of the authors’ main arguments (I), I would like to reflect on some potential advantages and risks of altering and or adopting alternative modes of distribution of competences (II); the potential legitimisation of the so-called “spending power” (III); the ghost of the “joint decision trap” (IV) and the virtues and hazards of cooperation (V). I will then offer some concluding remarks on the link between social protection and identity politics in a multinational context (VI). I. The end of a myth: some (overly optimistic ?) advantages The lead ...