Cyprus Unitary state

Reforms

A draft proposal, which should enter into effect in 2014, calls for the decentralisation of competences and the financial autonomy for local governements of Cyprus.

A local government reform should go into effect in 2014. In particular, it would introduce a wave of decentralisation of competences within a period of five to ten years and possibly establish an intermediate level of self-government between the municipalities and the state: the district councils. Accordingly, a new voting system may be implemented for the election of the district councillors. This draft proposal is essentially the response to an extensive study made by national associations of local governments in close cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, with the intent to increase the effectiveness and flexibility of local actions.

To this end, administrative changes must go hand in hand with the introduction of changes to the financial rules. New ways of calculating the financial transfers from the state as well as the municipalities’ own resources could then be applied. Inter-municipal cooperation has also been promoted and many rural communities are in favour of creating clusters to manage local public services such as the collection and treatment of waste, the sewage system or the water supply. This reform, launched prior to the economic unease which recently hit the country, aims primarily to improve decentralisation while increasing effectiveness.

Even so, the current situation can present financial difficulties for local governements as well as accelerate the implementation of this reform. Some mergers between municipalities might also take place sooner than planned.

Local self-government in Cyprus:

The current reform aims for the decentralisation of competences and the devolution of substantial financial resources, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. Nevertheless, the difficult economic situation calls for special attention in light of the risk it presents to local governements’ finances. Care must also be taken to ensure that the project of merging municipalities is carried out with the consent of local elected representatives and the population.

KEY REFORMS

• 1985: Municipalities Law
• 1999: Communities Law
• 2014: new territorial reforms:
  • Decentralisation of powers
  • Option to create district councils (new intermediary level)
  • New financial autonomy rules
  • Encouragement for inter-municipal cooperation
  • Plans to merge municipalities
  • Local government efficiency programme