The highly fragmented territorial administrative organisation in Slovakia does not allow the municipalities to collect meaningful own resources which jeopardises their financial independence. The Slovak regions also have very limited financial capacities. In order to improve the fiscal decentralisation policy, the Slovak Government requested a policy advice on the financial independence of the local and regional governments.
Following a series of discussions between Council of Europe experts and Slovak stakeholders, organised in November and December 2022, the Centre of Expertise prepared concrete recommendations to be applied to different scenarios for reform of the local government system, notably in the following areas:
- Revenue raising options for the municipalities and regions.
- Environment-friendly policies.
- Models for equalisation of the local authorities within the region.
- Risk assessment of delayed fiscal decentralisation reforms.
The policy advice highlights importance of enhancing the Slovak local and regional fiscal autonomy, improving provision of services, and strengthening accountability at local level. It was prepared in the framework of the Council of Europe – European Union Join Project “Delivering Good Governance in Slovakia – II phase" and in cooperation with the implementing partner – the Slovak NGO MESA10.
