Local and Regional Self-Government in the Republic of Croatia and Comparison with Greek Experience

Predmet ovog rada je lokalna i područna (regionalna) samouprava u Republici Hrvatskoj, te komparacija iste sa grčkim iskustvima. U tom kontekstu, u radu se bavimo temeljnim pojmovima lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave, kao i razvojem lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave, pravnim okvirom, teritorijalnom organiziranošću jedinica, lokalnom samoupravom u Europskoj uniji, decentralizacijom lokalne samouprave u Grčkoj i njezinim relevantnim iskustvima za Republiku Hrvatsku, te konačno i reformom lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave. Cilj reforme samouprave je smanjiti velik broj općina, gradova i županija koji su neučinkoviti u djelovanju prema građanima. Potrebna je reforma sa dugoročnim učinkom u cilju usavršavanja budućih stručnih službenika i udruživanja velikog broja jedinica samouprave, kako bi iste postale učinkovitije. Za izradu ovog rada korištene su metode analize i sinteze. Analizirani su razvoj lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave kroz stoljeća, te njihova teritorijalna organiziranost u novije vrijeme, dok je uz metodu sinteze sve naučeno i istraženo sistematizirano te oblikovano u smislenu cjelinu. Isto tako, korištene su metode komparacije i kompilacije.The subject of this paper is local and regional self-government in the Republic of Croatia and a comparison with Greek experiences. In this context, the paper deals with the basic concepts of local and regional self-government, as well as the development of local and regional self-government, legal framework, territorial organization of units, local self-government in the European Union, decentralization of local self-government in Greece and its relevant experiences for the Republic of Croatia and reform of local and regional self-government. The goal of self-government reform is to reduce the large number of municipalities, cities and counties that are ineffective in their response to citizens. Reform with long-term impact is needed in order to train future professional staff and to bring together a large number of self-government units to make them more effective. Methods of analysis and synthesis were used to construct this paper. The development of local and regional self- government through the centuries has been analyzed, as well as their territorial organization in recent times, while with the method of synthesis everything has been learned and researched systematically and formulated into a meaningful whole. Comparison and compilation methods were also used