INTER-MUNICIPAL COOPERATION IN SERBIA – OPPORTUNITIES AND PRACTICAL SCOPE

Veran Stančetić

Abstract

European experiences indicate numerous forms of inter-municipal cooperation, ranging from simpler forms aimed at more efficient and rational management (such as joint local public enterprises or shared administrations) to integrative forms where inter-municipal unions are formed, possessing legal subjectivity and their own governance structure (union assembly, president, budget, etc.). The main purpose of such cooperation models is the collective decision-making on public policies and jointly management of territorial development encompassing multiple municipalities. This can serve as an alternative to formal regionalization and regional self-governance, particularly in cases where the regional level of governance is underdeveloped.

These experiences can be valuable for Serbia, considering that formal decentralization has not been embraced as an option by the authorities thus far, despite the need for regional governance, especially in the context of European integration, balanced regional development, and further democratization.

The legislator in Serbia has not yet anticipated this kind of complex or integrative inter-municipal cooperation. However, in recent years, there has been a promotion of the idea of inter-municipal cooperation (in simpler forms), which is reflected in the current Law on Local Self-Government, as well as in the initial financial incentives.

The paper initially presents the challenges of modern governance and reform directions, as well as the significance and practical scope of inter-municipal cooperation in European countries. Subsequently, the formal-legal possibilities for municipalities in Serbia to cooperate are examined, followed by practical implications and possibilities (based on European practices) that can be developed in the future.

References

Benz, Arthur and Ioannis Papadopoulos, eds. 2006. Governance and Democracy: Comparing National, European and International Experiences, London: Routledge.

BTI, n.d. “Transformation Atlas.” July 23 2023. https://atlas.bti-project.org/.

CoE, UNDP and LGI. 2010. “Toolkit Manual: Inter-municipal Cooperation.ˮ https://rm.coe.int/imc-intermunicipal-co-operation/1680746ec3

Danas. 2020. „Martinovic: Medjuopstinska saradnja od velikog znacaja za sistem lokalne samouprave.ˮ 07. 12. 2022. https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/martinovic-medjuopstinska-saradnja-od-velikog-znacaja-za-sistem-lokalne-samouprave/.

Dunn, William. 2018. Public Policy Analysis: An Integrated Approach (Sixth Edition). New York and London: Routledge.

Emilia Romagna region. n.d. „Lands Union of Castelli.ˮ https://www.unione.terredicastelli.mo.it/.

Đorđevic, Snežana. 2008. Vlasti u akciji – svet javnih usluga. Beograd: FPN.

Đorđevic, Snežana. 2012. Renesansa lokalne vlasti – uporedni modeli. Beograd: Cigoja i FPN.

Freedom House. n.d. “Freedom in the World 2023 – June 23 2023. Serbia.” https://freedomhouse.org/country/serbia/freedom-world/2023.

Hisschemöller, Matthijs, Rob Hoppe, Peter Groenewegen and Cees J. H. Midden. 2001. “Knowledge Use and Political Choice in Dutch Environmental Policy: A Problem Structuring Perspective on Real Life Experiments in Extended Peer Review” in: Knowledge, Power, and Participation in Environmental Policy Analysis, eds. M. Hisschemöller, R. Hoppe, W. N. Dunn, J. R. Ravetz, 437‒470. New York: Routledge.

Jones, O. Charles. 1984. An Introduction to the study of public policy. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Kersting, Norbert and Angelika Vetter. 2003. Reforming Local Government in Europe: Closing the Gap between Democracy and Efficiency. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Markus, Gossas. 2006. Kommunal samverkan och statlig nätverksstyrning. Stockholm: Institutet för Framtidsstudier.

Matić, Petar i Aleksandra Mirović Janković. 2011. „Lokalna samouprava u kontekstu modernizacije.ˮ Politička revija (3): 259‒276. doi: 10.22182/pr.2932011.12.

Matić, Petar. 2012. „Regionalizam i teritorijalna politika u Evropi.ˮ Nacionalni interes (2): 41‒57. doi: 10.22182/ni.1422012.2.

MDULS. 2020. „Fond za medjuopstinsku saradnju.ˮ 27.11.2020. https://mduls.gov.rs/obavestenja/fond-za-medjuopstinsku-saradnju/?script=lat.

Miller, Lee Ryan. 2004. Democratic Efficiency: Inequality, Representation, and Public Policy Outputs in the United States and Worldwide. Bloomington: AuthorHouse.

N1. 2020. „Međuoštinska saradnja odavno je praksa u EU, a zasto je ona važna?ˮ 8.juli 2022. https://n1info.rs/vesti/medjuopstinska-saradnja-odavno-je-praksa-u-eu-a-zasto-je-ona-vazna/.

Odluka MDULS. 2023. Ministarstvo drzavne uprave i lokalne samouprave, Odluka br. 337-00-210/20-24/35, 3.02.2023. Poslednji pristup 23. jun. 2023. https://mduls.gov.rs/wp-content/uploads/Odluka-o-izboru-predloga-projekata-MOS-2-2.pdf?script=lat.

Osborne, David and Ted Gaebler. 1993. Reinventing Government – How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is transforming the Public Sector. New York: Penguin group.

Podolnjak, Robert, Irena Gluhak, John Jackson, and Mladen Ivanović. 2010. Inter-municipal Cooperation in the Republic of Croatia. Zagreb: Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Croatia.

Scholte, Jan Aart. 2005. Globalization: A Critical Introduction. London: Red Globe Press.

Sedmihradska, Luice. 2011. “Voluntary Municipial Associations in the Czech Republic: Unfulfilled Expectations?ˮ In: Working Together – International Cooperation in Five Central European Countries, eds. Pawel Swianiewicz, Budapest: Open Society Foundations.

SKGO. 2019. „Međuopštinska saradnja važna za razvoj cele Srbije.ˮ 12.12.2019. http://skgo.org/vesti/detaljno/2307/medjuopstinska-saradnja-vazna-za-razvoj-cele-srbije.

Sørensen, Georg. 2004. The Transformation of the State: Beyond the Myth of Retreat, London: Red Globe Press.

Stančetić, Veran. 2017. „Reforma javnog upravljanja i (ne)demokratičnost u Srbiji.ˮ Kultura polisa 33: 375‒388.

Stančetić, Veran. 2022. „Stavovi stranaka o vertikalnoj organizaciji vlasti u Srbiji kao faktoru efikasnog javnog upravljanja.ˮ U: Trideset godina od obnove višestranačja u Srbiji, ur. Nikola Mladenović i Petar Matić, 134‒159. Beograd: Institut za političke studije.

Vlada RS, n.d. „Strategije, programi, planovi.ˮ 23. jun 2023. https://www.srbija.gov.rs/dokument/45678/strategije-programi-planovi-.php .

Worldbank, n.d. “Worldwide Governance Indicators.” July 23, 2023. http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/.

Zakon o lokalnoj samoupravi, „Sluzbeni glasnik Republike Srbijeˮ, br. 129/2007, 83/2014 – dr. zakon, 101/2016 – dr. zakon, 47/2018 i 111/2021 – dr. zakon.

Zürn, Michael. 1998. Democratic Governance Beyond the Nation State? Social science Open Repository. https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/67188.