Romania Unitary state

Reforms

Already under discussion for several years, a territorial reform in Romania sets out to transform the current statistical regions into fully fledged regional authorities.

Romanian authorities are currently involved in a movement towards decentralisation and are preparing for the transformation of eight statistical regions into regional authorities in their own right. These new regions are expected to benefit from a large-scale transfer of competences from the central state, the counties (județ) and the municipalities. The exact details surrounding these new competences have still not been officially determined, but they will require revisions of the framework agreement on decentralisation and of the law on public administration.

These regions are meant to enjoy a great deal of financial autonomy. The financing plan for local and regional authorities and the tax code should be modified accordingly, in a way that will also help the development of local self-government. The existence of these new regional entities may also trigger the restructuring of services and changes in the number of civil servants. It is also worth noting that the presidents of these new regions are proposed to be elected by direct vote.

The creation of regions is not connected to the economic and financial crisis, as the discussions on this topic have been on-going for more than ten years. Major plans to reduce costs and improve public administration efficiency may, however, affect the organization of local and regional authorities in Romania. There have also been discussions concerning the salaries of local and regional civil servants, as well as their training.

Local self-government in Romania:

Even though decentralisation will result in the transfer of competences currently held by the municipalities and counties, the reform seems to comply with the principles of subsidiarity and local selfgovernment, particularly in terms of finances. Nevertheless, the cutbacks in the budgets of local and regional Romanian authorities may threaten the financial autonomy of the subnational governments.