Slovenia has built a system of local self-government within the main provisions of European Charter on local self-government. However system could benefit from enhancing local autonomy – whether in policy scope or fiscal capacity. Municipalities are not stimulated to engage in proactive managing of local life and although the competences of municipalities are regulated (and protected) by the Constitution, the Law on local self-government and special laws, some policy areas are loosely defined and rely heavily on agenda of individual local government.
COBISS.SI-ID: 34982403
Slovenia is one of the very few countries in the European Union with a single tier local government system, and while levels of local democracy have been on the rise since gaining independence in 1991, relations between the state on the one side and local governments (municipalities) on the other has slowly deteriorated, especially over the questions of municipal competencies and financing of local communities. While Slovenia ratified the European Charter on Local Self-Government (ECLG) in 1996, the charter was never fully implemented, as the subsidiarity principle was never fully implemented. The paper is analysing the issue of local autonomy with an emphasis on the financial autonomy, using primary and secondary sources as well as empirical data from national and local authorities.
COBISS.SI-ID: 17693955
The paper examines whether the system implemented for financing local communities (municipalities) in Slovenia in the period 2010-2016 is compliant with the European Charter of Local Self-Government. We examined the cost coverage for performing the tasks of municipalities, the cost structure and the rate of interconnections between the budgeted funds under the eligible expenditure mechanism and the data collected on costs by municipality. Our hypothesis states that the principles whereby funding would be commensurate with tasks were not fulfilled in the period between 2010 and 2016 in the Republic of Slovenia given that the average per capita costs exceeded the funding under eligible expenditure. The discrepancy had increased from the previously examined period of 2007-2009. The findings show that although the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government have been satisfactorily included in the country's laws, certain discrepancies have been found with regard to funding where the principle of municipal funding had not adequately been taken into account to ensure that funding is commensurate with the tasks. Between 2010 and 2016, municipalities received less funding than the scope of their tasks would require. The situation deteriorated in 2010 - 2016 (with respect to the 2007-2009 period) when the existing funding model was introduced. The municipal funding model should be improved so that the eligible expenditure calculation takes into account in real time the...
COBISS.SI-ID: 5755691