local government

The use of participatory budgeting (PB) has appeared in more and more democratically governed municipalities in recent years. According to the 2021 book “World Atlas of Participatory Budgeting,” this method is widespread primarily in Europe and secondarily in South America, in which the residents of the city can propose the use of a certain amount from the municipality’s budget.”

Despite the increasing international prominence of mayors and municipal networks, local governments across Europe face numerous challenges. In the UK, local councils lack the resources to fulfill their extensive responsibilities, while in France, attempts at decentralization have been hindered by a lack of clarity over the distribution of responsibilities and a relatively high degree of central government interference.

While for the second year now we have been tracking new numbers of coronavirus-related cases and deaths several times a day, and estimates for the cost of the economic lockdown range between two and four billion CZK a day (for the Czech Republic), another crucial figure has escaped our attention.

The new policy paper prepared by the Central European Institute of Asian Studies in collaboration with the Association for International Affairs provides a comprehensive account of Czech and Slovak paradiplomatic activity towards China.

As of January 2020, 80 different declarations of “LGBT-free zones” were passed by various Polish cities and provinces in central and south-east parts of the country, including four voivedoships, the highest level of administrative subdivision in Poland.

Slovenia is one of the most centralized countries in the European Union with a one-tier local government system. While the country ratified the European Charter on Local Government in 1996, the charter was never fully implemented

Estonia became a rapidly developing, open, and Western-minded Nordic country. The e-government model and the digital society of Estonia are also an example for many developed countries in the West nowadays.