DECENTRALIZATION AND MODELS OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN EU MEMBER STATES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51989/NUL.2021.4.18Keywords:
decentralization, local government, models of local government, European UnionAbstract
The author analyzes the main models of local government in EU member states and the impact of decentralization on their evolution. The centralized model is most often implemented in small countries and is based on the defining role of the central government and its departments. In this model, local and regional governments have limited competences in the field of regional development and planning. This model is implemented in small member states of the European Union, especially in countries that have a one-tier system of local self-government. It is concluded that the model of local government is determined by the size of the country and the system of regional development. There are centralized, decentralized and federal models. The article analyzes the main elements of administrative management of regional planning and development in centralized and decentralized states. In the new EU Member States, the centralized model is dominant due to the smaller size of countries and the significant role of EU funds in regional development. The distribution of these resources is controlled by the central government and its agencies, but special hybrid bodies have been established in several countries. Thus, decentralization in small states was stimulated by EU funds. After the crisis of 2008, new approaches prevailed in regional development management: centralization and concentration. These trends can be seen in centralized systems, which previously partially decentralized regional development, so regional bodies and agencies were abolished, in regionalized countries regional units were merged, and federalization trends were suspended. In the new Member States and in the Mediterranean countries, the impact of European Union legislation is greater, as their regional units are generally less developed and are the main recipients of EU funds.
References
Kuhlmann S., Wollmann, H. Introduction to Comparative Public Administration. Cheltenham, Northampton : Edward Elgar, 2014.
Bäumer K. Kroës G. Decentralisation in German Context: An Assesment of Governance Actors and Approaches ‘from Below’. In E. Dick, K. Gaesing, D. Inkoom and T. Kausel, eds., Decentralisation and Regional Development. Experiences and Lessons from Four Continents over Three Decades. Basel: Springer International, 2016. pp. 57–70.
Deželan T., Maksuti A. Uršić, M. Capacity of Local Development Planning in Slovenia: Strenghts and Weakness of Local Sustainable Development Strategies. Lex Localis – Journal of Local Self-Government, 2014. 12 (3).
Ravšelj D. Aristovnik A. R&D Subsidies as Drivers of Corporate Performance in Slovenia: The Regional Perspective. DANUBE: Law and Economics Review 8 (2), 2017. pp. 79–95.
Adams N. National Spatial Strategies in the Baltic States. In N. Adams, J. Alden, and N. Harris, eds., Regional Development and Spatial Planning in an Enlarged European Union. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006. pp. 155–181.
Measuring Regional Authority. A Postfunctionalist Theory of Governance / L. Hoogle et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Vol. I.
Pálné Kovács I. Failed Rescaling of Territorial Governance in Hungary: What Was the Gist? In S. Nunes, and J. Buček, eds., Fiscal Austerity and Innovation in Local Governance in Europe. London, New York: Routledge, 2014. pp. 95–112.
Piattoni S. The Committee of the Regions: multi-level governance after enlargement. In E. Best, T. Christiansen and P. Settembri, eds., The Institutions of the Enlarged European Union. Continuity and Chang. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar, 2008. pp. 162–182.
Tatham M. With, Without or Against the State? How European Regions Play the Brussels Game. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Adshead M. Policy networks and sub-national government in Ireland. In M. Adshead, and M. Millar, eds., Public Administration and Public Policy in Ireland. Theory and Methods. London, New York: Routledge, 2003. pp. 108–128.
Callanan M. Regional Authorities and Regional Assemblies. In M. Callanan and J.F. Keogan, eds. Local Government in Ireland. Inside Out. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration, 2003. pp. 429–446.
Halkier H., Danson M., Damborg, C. (eds.) (1998) Regional Development Agencies in Europe. London (UK) – Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers & Regional Studies Associations, 1998.
Malíková L., Jacko T. Public Administration Reforms in Slovakia: Reviewing Previous Structures and Adopting a New Model. In S. Guérard and A. Astrauskas, eds., Local Autonomy in the 21st Century. Between Tradition and Modernisation. L’autonomie locale au XXIe siècle. Entre tradition et modernisation. Lille: Institut Universitaire Varenne, 2016. pp. 285–304.
Weber T., Köppert V. Kommunalrecht Bayern. 3., neu bearbeitete Auflage. Heidelberg: C. F. Müller, 2015.
Cassese S. Il diritto administrativo: storia e prospettive. Milano: Giuffré, 2010.
