Malta Unitary state

Reforms

Even though territorial reforms seem to have improved the situation of local selfgovernment in Malta, local and regional authorities still only manage a small number of competences.

Local self-government is a relatively recent idea in Malta: the first local councils were not created until 1993. The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities issued two recommendations, one in 2002 and the other in 2011, monitoring the country’s compliance with the European Charter of Local SelfGovernment and its implementation of the principle of subsidiarity.

A few small scale reforms have been carried out in recent years, mainly in order to transfer more competences to the municipalities. The Maltese government has been promoting the exchange of the best practices as well seeking to improve the efficiency of local governments.

In addition, five regions were created: four on the island of Malta and one on the island of Gozo. In any case, like the municipalities, these regions have very few powers.

Local self-government in Malta:

The regions and municipalities in Malta only manage a small amount of funds and very few competences. They remain very dependent on the central government and do not seem to enjoy any real local autonomy.

KEY REFORMS

• 1993: Local Councils Act, establishing the first local councils.
• 2001: constitutional amendment enshrining the local council system.
• 2009: Local Government Reform Act (Act XVI), creating five regional committees and five regions (four on the island of Malta and one on the island of Gozo). Like the local councils, however, these regions have extremely limited powers.
• Powers transferred to local governments
• Local councils encouraged to share best practice
• Local government efficiency programmes
• Creation of five regions