CURRENT STATUS OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: PRACTICE FOR UKRAINE

Abstract

This scientific work is devoted to a comparative study of the constitutional and legal principles of the organization of local self-government and the corresponding practice of implementing the decentralization reform in the countries of the European Union. The focus of the article is on such unitary countries as: Denmark, Spain, Poland, Portugal, France, Sweden. Decentralization in the studied European countries is based on common ideas and values. At the same time, the authors established that the features of the reform of municipal government and the processes of decentralization are determined by the national characteristics and traditions of the territorial organization of public power.

It is noted that the Constitutions of the member states of the European Union enshrine the decentralization of power as the basis of the constitutional system. It is emphasized that each of the analyzed states has enshrined in its legislation strategic issues of decentralization of state power, and supplementing the current legislation with additional regulatory legal acts related to the decentralization process contributes to a more effective implementation of its key provisions in practice. Attention is drawn to the fact that the nature of the constitutional consolidation and manifestations of the decentralization process were influenced by: legal tradition, national-historical features, past experience of the functioning of state authorities and features of the administrative-territorial structure of states. Processes that are universal for the decentralization policy in the countries of the European Union and have influenced the development of local self-government are identified. The multidimensionality of the decentralization process is emphasized. The characteristic features of political, administrative and fiscal decentralization are identified. Practical aspects of the decentralization reform in the studied countries were analyzed using the Decentralization Index, developed by the European Committee of the Regions within the framework of the analysis of the distribution of power. It is noted that the above characteristics of decentralization in each country under study develop asymmetrically, universal factors are the reluctance of central government bodies to transfer part of their powers to local authorities, the desire to maintain influence at the regional level of government, financial limitations of local budgets, and lack of independence in matters related to decision-making by local authorities.

The current state of development of local self-government in European countries shows that the Scandinavian model has the highest ratings in terms of the development of decentralization and the ability of municipal authorities to provide quality services. In addition, a fairly high level of development of the territorial organization of public authorities is seen in Spain, in particular, attention is drawn to a clear clear division of competence between levels of government and considerable autonomy of territories. The current state of local self-government in Poland and France seems no less interesting, despite the rather negative reviews and reports of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. And as a result, in these countries it is expected to introduce new waves of reform of local self-government, which will definitely be of interest to domestic municipal science.

One of the most important stages of post-war recovery will be the reform of the territorial organization of government and local self-government. Our further European integration movement is impossible without the implementation of relevant changes. It is obvious that despite all the difficulties of post-war reconstruction, the relevant reforms will be based, among other things, on foreign experience. A very important aspect is the active participation of citizens in local self-government and the creation of favorable conditions for the financial and administrative autonomy of communities.

Keywords: local self-government in European countries, decentralization, municipal system, Constitution, municipality, Denmark, Spain, Poland, France, Sweden, Portugal, separation of powers, experience for Ukraine.