Decentralisation and Regionalisation in Bulgaria
Towards Balanced Regional Development
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Bulgaria has made solid progress in its territorial governance and socio-economic development. Yet, it has not been able to counteract large and increasing territorial disparities. Doing so will require addressing remaining structural challenges that may be limiting further transformation, government performance and regional resilience. It will also depend on shifting from a centrally-designed approach to regional development policy to one that incorporates subnational input and carefully considers regional specificities. Such a shift, coupled with a revitalised multi-level governance model to strengthen regional and municipal governance, could generate more balanced regional development and inclusive growth in Bulgaria. This multi-level governance study considers the avenues Bulgarian national and subnational authorities could take to ensure more place-based regional development and governance. It emphasises a comprehensive, yet incremental, approach to decentralisation and regionalisation reforms to generate more effective and balanced regional development.
Bulgaria’s multi-level governance system: A diagnosis
Bulgaria’s efforts for decentralisation and place-based regional development since the early 1990s have not yet yielded the desired outcomes. Despite successive decentralisation strategies and implementation programmes, the country has maintained its centralised multi-level governance model. Regional policy is still top-down and does not foster an integrated approach across sectors. Municipal governance faces several challenges in the three key dimensions of decentralisation: political, administrative and fiscal. Effective regional governance is missing at both the district and planning region levels. Governors are not equipped with sufficient power and administrative and financial resources to carry out their functions and implement regional policy while planning regions are also particularly weak.
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