ABSTRACT
The brief survey given above confirms what has become apparent from the preceding chapters. Despite appearances to the contrary, the key to decision making in regional systems is co-operation. Whatever method of allocation is used to define the powers of the various tiers of government, few activities can be isolated sufficiently to allow policy making without reference to another tier. Even systems which strive towards such an aim (such as Belgium’s) find it impossible to deliver this in practice. This means that the interaction between levels is accorded crucial importance in the autonomy of regional governments.
