Asymmetric Decentralisation in Some European Union Member States

Abstract

Europska unija nema jedinstveni koncept utvrđivanja odnosa središnje države i nižih razina vlasti te su države članice zadržale autonomiju u utvrđivanju optimalnog stupnja decentralizacije. Postoji niz teorijskih razloga koji idu u prilog jasnom određenju uloga i odgovornosti između razina vlasti koje odražavaju gospodarske, povijesne, etničke zemljopisne i ostale razlike pojedinih područja. Te su razlike ujedno i glavni motivi zbog kojih se pojedinim regijama osiguravala veća autonomija, veća razina odgovornosti i privilegiji u odnosu prema ostalim regijama. U povijesti europskih država asimetrično decentralizirano uređenje nije bilo rijetkost. Pojedine su europske regije imale različite stupnjeve autonomije utemeljene na različitim motivima i razlozima. Izvori znanstvene i stručne literature ne nude iscrpan pregled svih regija s asimetričnim položajem. Međutim, iskustva odabranih europskih država mogu pomoći u boljem razumijevanju razloga i zahtjeva za primjenu modela asimetrične decentralizacije.A unified concept of relations between central state and subnational governments does not exist. Member states have retained autonomy in deciding about the intensity of local autonomy. There are many theoretical reasons in favour of clear delimitation of roles and responsibilities between the levels of government which reflect economic, historical, ethnical, geographical, and other differences among various areas within a country. These differences are the main reason for providing greater autonomy, responsibilities, and privileges to some regions, in contrast to the others. Asymmetric decentralised arrangements are not rare in European history. Although literature does not provide a complete overview of the regions with asymmetric position, selected European experiences may help to better understand the reasons and requests for application of asymmetric decentralisation. The main goal of the paper is to describe the practices and basic characteristics of the institutional arrangements ensuring asymmetric decentralisation. After giving the theoretical frame and overview of researches on asymmetric decentralisation, the paper analyses asymmetric decentralisation, mainly in fiscal sense, and explores causes, forms, and problems of such institutional arrangements. Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and Spain are the source of examples on which the research of the forms of asymmetric decentralisation is based. The paper also describes the statuses of particular regions with asymmetric characteristics, and tests the hypothesis about non-existence of harmonized decentralisation model in the European Union