Croatia Unitary state

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Reforms

Today, Croatia is experiencing a movement headed towards greater decentralisation, mainly in favour of its municipalities.

Since 2009, several laws modifying how Croatian local and regional authorities operate have been adopted, concerning in particular the management of farmlands and regional planning, the finances of regional hospitals as well as the salaries of local and regional officials.

These reforms aim in particular to improve the decentralisation process and to give more competences to local and regional authorities, and especially to the municipalities. Started in 2009, this process proved to be particularly dynamic in 2012 and 2013. The devolution of competences could also escalate in the coming years.

The financial transfers from the state to local and regional authorities are, on the whole, in decline. The counties are facing a particularly difficult situation, mainly due to a decrease in their own resources. This translates into a massive decrease in some places in the number of officials, which can in turn impair the effectiveness of these public administrations.

Local self-government in Croatia:

While it seems that the country respects the principle of subsidiarity and local self-government in accordance with the European Union’s Treaty of Lisbon and the Council of Europe’s European Charter of Local Self-Government, the difficult financial situation of local governements and counties can hinder the freedom of action of the former. This situation is mainly the result of the effects of the economic and financial crisis on the country’s finances.

 

KEY REFORMS
  • 2009: a series of laws amending the functioning of local and county authorities
  • 2012-2013: reforms focusing on decentralisation and greater powers for local and county authorities (especially towns and cities):
    • devolution of specific powers to municipalities and counties
    • budget cuts for local governements (especially counties)
    • cost-cutting programmes and cuts in the number of civil servants employed by county governments

 

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STRUCTURES
HISTORY
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