EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTING DECENTRALIZATION AND CHANGING APPROACHES TO THE FORMATION OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT BODIES
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Abstract
Introduction. In recent decades, the issue of decentralization has become a key component of public administration reform in many European countries. The transformation of governance structures and the redistribution of powers from central to local authorities have significantly influenced the efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness of local self-government. The European experience demonstrates a variety of approaches to decentralization, taking into account national specifics, political traditions, and socio-economic contexts. This article focuses on the evolution of local self-government systems in selected European states and outlines strategic directions for adapting these models in the context of ongoing administrative-territorial reforms in Ukraine.
The purpose of the scientific article is to identify the features of the European approach to decentralization and the formation of an effective system of local self-government.
Results. The European experience of implementing decentralization and changing approaches to the formation of local self-government organizations has been studied. Decentralization is defined as the process of redistributing functions, powers, and human resources from the central government and includes two administrative-political aspects and two levels: regional (power is transferred from the central city to other regions) and functional (power and decision-making are transferred from central administrative bodies to local self-government bodies or their executive bodies. It has been determined that the Italian and Spanish models of decentralization provide for the formation of a three-level system of local self-government with legislative powers vested in first-level bodies, the fully elective nature of public executive power at the local level, and its independence from public power bodies at the national level. In Spain, such a model also operates at the municipal level. However, at the state level, administrative functions belong not only to local self-government bodies, but also to local administrative bodies, and at the municipal level, the implementation of state policy in the field of law enforcement and public safety is entrusted to the central government, not to municipal bodies. The French model of decentralization of public power involves the transfer of state power to local self-government bodies and control over them by the judiciary and administrative authorities, the appointment of administrative bodies by representative local self-government bodies, the unification of several lower-level communities (communes) into a single organization with greater powers than the communes had before the unification, and the transfer of powers to local self-government bodies. The Polish experience of administrative decentralization includes the merger of higher administrative units (counties of voivodeships), the formation of new units (communes) with the transfer of most of the powers of local administration to them, as well as the unification of elections and appointments to executive local self-government bodies.
Conclusion. The study highlights the diversity of European decentralization models and their impact on the development of effective and responsive local self-government. The analysis reveals that successful implementation of decentralization reforms depends on a balanced distribution of powers, financial autonomy, and active civic engagement.
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