Aspekti Publìčnogo Upravlìnnâ (Mar 2015)
The experience of reforming local government in the European Union countries
Abstract
The changes of territorial organization of the public authorities in the EU countries are analyzed. The end of these changes was re-distribution of powers and responsibilities between different levels of government. Reasons for reforming the territorial organization are given and its stages are described. The essence of functional and fundamental concepts of reforming local government in the European Union countries is defined. The focus is made on the experience of realization of the functional concept in France; the most common forms of intermunicipal cooperation in European countries are explained. The experience of realization of the fundamental concept in Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Baltic States, etc. is considered. It is concluded that it is important to take into account both the positive and negative aspects of «functional» and «fundamental» concepts and polyvariance of ways of the system of administrative-territorial division improvement in the process of reforming the territorial organization of power in Ukraine.
