DECENTRALIZATION AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES IN UKRAINE: EXPERIENCE OF THE EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

The analysis of modern Ukrainian political and legal research suggests that the theory is dominated by the understanding of the territorial organization of power according to which the territorial community is the basis for the organization of the system of community development management. According to the researchers, it is the excessive number of small administrative-territorial units of the basic level that has determined the need for reform. The lack of the necessary economic and human resources makes it impossible for basic local government units to effectively exercise their powers. The main problem of decentralization is that the creation of new territorial communities did not take into account resource provision, transportation tasks, and economic and geographical zoning in general. The author analyzes and compares the experience of EU countries in decentralization. To ensure a favorable climate for the decentralization process, special regional development institutions have been created in different countries as executive bodies that assist various departmental structures in their activities, and these can also be independent institutions for the development of regional development programs and fund management, public non-profit organizations, and other non-governmental organizations working in partnership with government institutions. Today, in the context of war, our state as a whole and each individual territorial community in particular lives by different principles, budgets are formed and used in a completely different way, many projects have been suspended, funds allocated for them have been redirected to other areas, and mass migration has taken place both within the country and abroad.

The article reveals that, according to the researchers, an excessive number of small administrative-territorial units of the basic level determined the need for decentralization reform. It is found that the main problem of decentralization is that the creation of new territorial communities did not take into account resource provision, transportation tasks, and economic and geographical zoning in general. The author analyzes and compares the experience of EU countries on decentralization issues. It is determined that the goals and objectives of the state policy on reform and decentralization are formed and coordinated with each other, they are specified in various programs and regulations. It can be argued that, in general, Ukraine is moving in the right direction in terms of reforming local self-government and territorial organization of power and covers all socially important areas.