Suchergebnisse

The European Charter on Local Self-government is a defining document for local governments across the EU and was a guideline for developing a framework of local governance based on local autonomy, decentralization that is close to the citizens. It was especially important for Central and East European Countries as they faced the challenges of a total overhaul of their administrative systems after the fall of the communist regimes. Romania fits into this picture as a late comer to the European family, with an administrative system that transitioned slowly from a hyper centralized arrangement to one that offers significant power to local governments. After 20 years since the ratification of the Charter, local government in Romania displays mixed elements, between progressive (protection of local authorities) and conservative (consultation of authorities, financial autonomy) in relation to the charter recommendations. The current article is an analysis on the state of affairs concerning local governance in Romania using the Charter as the main theoretical framework.

The public interest is a syntagm frequently used to account for the projects and the actions of the local government authorities. The study analyses the way local elected officials relate to the content and the meaning of this concept. The quality of the social dialogue, the duality of the public life, the referential models of public policies are some sources of the gap between the administrative agenda and the citizens 'agenda. Accepting the public interest as a guiding rule in designing the activities for the community welfare involves adjusting both the ambitions of the politicians and the social and economic pressures. The representation of the public interest requires temporary compromise, transparent decisions, based on evidence, innovation and creativity.