BY
MILENA MINKOVA, S.J.D
BULGARIA
 

PROJECT’S  AREA: BUILDING INSTITUTIONS

PROJECT’S TITLE: DEFINING THE NEW ROLE OF THE REGIONS IN OVERSEEING AND COORDINATING REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN BULGARIA

PROJECT’S RESUME

As Bulgaria has established the national goal of becoming a member of the European Union, it faces numerous challenges regarding the roles and relationships of the different levels of government – national, regional and local. While the EU does not stipulate specific forms of regional government, leaving that decision up to individual national governments, it does lay requirements for monitoring the use and impact of pre-accession funds. The use of EU funding also implies a more developed framework for EU fund administration, effective planning and coordination and a more transparent articulation of development planning efforts among the various levels of government than currently exists in Bulgaria. The experience of the last year was that Bulgaria had to return over 40 million Euro to the EU since it did not have the administrative wherewithal to absorb it. Most important is the need for the proper articulation and coordination of municipal plans for infrastructure and service improvements with regional plans as well as the coordination of resource mobilization at the local and regional levels.

At the same time, strengthening decision-making about development planning and increasing the importance of resource allocation decisions at the regional level brings with it the need to improve governance structures at that level. Resource allocation decisions in the democratic framework of contemporary Bulgaria must be made in a transparent and accountable manner.

This proposal takes a proper account of the current state of allocation of the roles and responsibilities among all levels of public administration in Bulgaria, the existing legal framework for regional development, and the political and social context for enhancing institutional reorganization and regional development. It focuses on defining the new role of the regions and the regional governor in overseeing and coordinating regional development in Bulgaria  as a very important part in the institutional reform and a conditio sine qua non in securing the access to the pre-accession funds. Thus, it provides for greater transparency, effectiveness and accountability in Bulgaria’s regional government structure.
The research will focus on:
- clarifying roles of all levels of government and their responsibilities  related to regional development
- expanding the administrative roles of regional governors in consolidating deconcentrated central government management and monitoring obligations at regional level
- capacity for improving coordination and cooperation among local, regional and central administrative units on regional development issues
- strengthening the policy making authority and representative character of regional development councils
- improving the legal framework on regional development with the necessary changes related to regional governance units

The main objective of the research is to contribute to strengthening the role of the regional governor as the administrative head and coordinator of central government services in the regions and to building an efficient institutional system in managing regional development issues and using the pre-accession funds. To be achieved through:
- analysis of the existing political, economic and legal framework related to regional governor and its role in regional development matters
- analysis of the current distribution of roles and responsibilities among levels of government in regional development issues
- comparative analysis of the roles and responsibilities of regional authorities in regional development issues in Poland and Hungary.
- Analysis of the EU requirements on institutional structure for managing regional development and pre-accessions funds
- Recommendations and proposals for necessary changes towards increasing the capacity of regional authorities to serve as a bridge among the central government and the local government structures in maintaining an efficient and transparent regional development policy.

In this context, the idea of the research is to explore the possibilities for gradual evolution of the current structure of the public sector by clarifying roles and responsibilities, improving coordination and cooperation, increasing personal engagement of government officials, etc. Being in a state of transition and institutional reform, it is very important to see the drawbacks of the current system and the options for improving it. Once having established the accession to the EU as a national priority, Bulgaria has no other choice but to build efficient institutional system for regional development. The role of regional governor as the link between central policy and local units is indispensable. In this context, it is important to note that the researcher considers a radical reform towards establishment of regional self-government a very costly and complicated undertaking, which needs an extremely careful consideration and a very profound public discussion. In this respect, Bulgaria needs to consider many political, economic and social factors, as well as the experience of those countries of CEE, which have introduced a second tier of regional self-government. The research will try to give a detailed picture of the requirements spelled by the EU regarding introduction of institutions to manage regional development and pre-accession funds. Thus, it will minimize the possibilities for misusing the formula of the  EU requirements in order to justify political decisions. However, the research does not exclude the evolution toward greater levels of regional self-government, if the country is committed to moving in that direction in the future and provided that such step corresponds to the needs and interests of the country.

While not limiting other parallel or future options for administrative reform, the research shall propose recommendations to support the ongoing EU accession process, increase absorption capacity of EU assistance funds and structure the regional government units as a vehicle for effective and transparent regional allocation and distribution of funds.

Based on the observations above, there is a clear need to redefine the roles and responsibilities for development planning and implementation at the legal and operational levels. The framework for reform can be drawn up with the following objectives:

1. Increase the capacity of municipalities to absorb EU funds and mobilize required local revenues and human resources because municipalities, in light of their service and infrastructure prerogatives, are potentially large consumers of funds.

2. Release Central Government from day-today reactive relationships with local issues and allow them to focus on countrywide policies and projects.

3. The partnership and participatory approach as well as the co-financing by beneficiaries should be a basic objective in programming and implementing projects to meet both EU criteria and introduce greater efficiency for the allocation of all development funds within the country.

4. The region is the appropriate nexus to coordinate central government and local government policies and plans and to formulate programs that are of greater than purely local interest. To fulfill this role, a regional policy making authority must be strengthened with a view toward greater representation. Also, regional administration should be strengthened to ensure greater horizontal coordination.
 

The results of the research are viewed in three practical areas:
- proposals for legislative changes-  the research will support the work of the working group on regional development and the other competent authorities  in amending the legal framework on regional development. The following laws need to be amended: Regional Development Act, Law on the Spatial Planning Act, Laws on Administrative and Territorial Division and Law on the Administrative Servicing of Natural and Legal persons, Law on Local Self-Government and Local Administration.
- by-law recommendations-Draft by-laws regulations should be prepared in accordance with the drafts of the amendments among the related laws to provide a comprehensive and integrated approach and the opportunity to both ensure complementarily and the identification potential conflicts in implementation. The objective of the by-laws, among others, should be to increase the transparency within the planning and implementation process
- Recommendations for professional practices (i.e. training and preparation of targeted manuals for government administration, integrated calendar for the preparation of plans, etc.)
 

The results of the research, including the proposed recommendation may be implemented into practice through the following activities:
- support the work of  working group N21 on harmonizing regional development acts with the acquis of the EU
- introduce the results to the responsible ministries, as well as to central, regional and local government units with the objective of implementing the legal solutions to streamline the flow and capacity within the system
- use the existing forums for regional policy discussion as a platform for discussing the necessary changes in policy and law, including representatives of interest groups
- making the results available to the general public and contributing to enhancing the public discussion on the new role of regional governor in regional development..