High-level representatives from the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Finance, the Hungarian National Association of Local Authorities (TÖOSZ), the European Commission’s DG REFORM, Council of Europe, experts and over 100 mayors gathered for the second conference of the ‘Local Government Public Finance Development and Municipal Capacity Building in Hungary’ project, co-funded by the European Commission’s DG REFORM and implemented by the Council of Europe’s Centre of Expertise for Good Governance.
Opening the conference with a video message, Mr. Daniele Dotto, Deputy Director for Support to Member States reforms, DG REFORM highlighted the value of the project through strengthening of the administrative and financial capacity of Hungarian local authorities.
Alina Tatarenko, Head of the Democratic Governance Division of the Council of Europe referenced the Reykjavik Declaration of the Council of Europe’s member states whIch called for securing and strengthening democracy and good governance at all levels. She further emphasised the crucial rule of local democracy and need for adequate resourcing of local governments – in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, as well as the importance of local authorities in demonstrating their own leadership through their adherence to the 12 Principles for Good Democratic Governance.
Dr. Miklós Dukai, State Secretary for Local Government, Ministry of Interior offered a historical perspective on the development of the Hungarian local government system since 1990. Deputy State Secretary Dr. Ábel Berczik of the Ministry of Finance introduced the draft budget for 2024 and its implications for local governments.
Council of Europe experts Gabor Peteri and Katalin Pallai offered an overview of key strands of the project: the piloting of European benchmarks for Local Finance and Public Ethics, the design of the Local Government Data Platform and the Leadership Academy Programme for elected officials and senior municipal staff that will commence in June and run through December 2023.
Daniel Klimovský, Associate Professor at Comenius University Bratislava and Member of the Board of Advisors to the Slovak Prime Minister for Public Administration and Regional Development then provided a comparative perspective on decentralisation issues. In his presentation, he shared current challenges and reform priorities that resonate with some of those faced in Hungary, in particular with regard to high fragmentation of the local government system and the need to ensure adequate financing of local services through fair and effective fiscal equalisation measures.
The conference concluded with the launch of the 2023 editions of the European Label for Governance Excellence (ELoGE) and the Best Practice Programme – inviting Hungarian municipalities to participate. The outcomes of both programmes will be presented at a ceremony on 30 November 2023.
