The Regional Policy in the EUMS from Central and Eastern Europe between Decentralisation and Recentralisation

Ana Maria Costea Ghimis,Ioan Horga

doi:10.14195/1647-6336_12_7

Abstract

During the accession process and after they became members of the European Union, the Central and Eastern states went through a process of decentralization that emphasized the local and the regional level. Although the process was not complete, after the financial crisis erupted, these states began to develop a centrifugal behaviour are started a recentralization process that decreased the competences of local and regional authorities. The present article argues that undeniably the European Commission through its regional policy has been an important driving force regarding the process of territorial decentralisation in Central and Eastern European countries. However, this influence has generated different outcomes, given its lack of clear perspective and competences.http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/1647-6336_12_7

Highlights

The enlargement process from 2004 and 2007 was possible due to the adoption of the membership criteria by the member states
The present article argues that undeniably the European Commission through its regional policy has been an important driving force regarding the process of territorial decentralisation in Central and Eastern European countries
If Poland at the time of accession and in the two years until the entry into financial cycle from 2007 to 2013, we can say that reached an optimal level of functional regionalization and decentralization, in the case of Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries registered “undeveloped regionalization and different decentralization” 55

Summary

Introduction

The enlargement process from 2004 and 2007 was possible due to the adoption of the membership criteria by the member states. Reforming the public sector includes not just its infrastructure (organisations and their interactions within the public sector and its civil society) and its supra-structure This does not mean that identities of communities or nations need to change, it does imply that practices are based on the belief of systems with norms and values, cultures and ideas. Since the available space is limited within this paper, we will try only to look at the evolution of public administration through local autonomy and decentralization which will give us the strength to express a phenomenon that we want to follow over the course of a decade, from decentralization to re-centralization These manifestations will be highlighted throughout the two following chapters. Among the identified manifestations we will mention only 3 that will be followed throughout the paper: the existing elected regional and local public authorities and their collectivities; the legal recognition of rights and obligations of regional and local administrative authorities that are necessary in order to manage the interests of the represented collectivities; the existing transfer of powers, responsibilities and resources from central to local and regional administrative authorities

Regionalisation and Decentralisation

Recentralization

Findings

The unaccomplished decentralisation or formal decentralisation