Decentralization Process in Romania

Abstract

Public administration reform reflects substantive changes in its major components, both at central government and local administrative level, and in the delivery of public services in general. On the other side, democratic consolidation requires the development of a new relationship between citizen and administration, a strengthened role of the authorities and the redefinition of the partnership with the civil society and the local elected officials. This article makes specific comments on the decentralization challenges based on the study in “Public administration reform in the context of the European integration”1. The document is focused on the technical questions related to the decentralization. The angle from which problems are observed is the angle of the local governments. The first “Conceptual framework” part aims to introduce the underlying principles on one hand, and the rules derived on these to be respected when designing decentralization policies. The next part “Analysis and findings” is structured according the current conditions in Romania. The final section will try to orient the readers’ attention to possible risks of the reform process.