Regional Governments in France, Germany, Poland and The Netherlands

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Regional Governments in France, Germany, Poland
and The Netherlands
CENTRE FOR LOCAL DEMOCRACYFACULTY OF SOCIAL
SCIENCES ERASMUS UNIVERSITY ROTTERDAMhttp//www
.eur.nl/fsw

• Project A03 Hanse Passage
• Best Practices for Regional Parliaments
• Drs. G. den BoogertDr. A. Cachet (co-ordinator)
• Dr. F.B. van der Meer
• Drs. R.M. Noppe
• Dr. L. Schaap

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Introduction

• A goal of one of the Hanse-Passage projects is
  The Partners will provide each other with
  information about structures, competences and
  roles of the regional institutions, especially
  the regional parliaments, determine differences,
  exchange thoughts about various approaches,
  document how the partners can learn from each
  other and other regions (www.hanse-passage.net).
  That is what this report is about.
• The following regional governments were studied
• France Régions
• Germany Länder
• The Netherlands Provinces
• Poland Voivodships

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Research Questions

• Research questions
• What does the system of sub-national government
  in the four countries look like, in general?
• What are the formal tasks of the regional
  governments in the Netherlands, Germany, France
  and Poland?
• What kind of citizens relations do the regional
  governments have? This question will be dealt
  with in terms of citizens roles, such as voters,
  customers, subjects of policies and co-producers
  of regional policies.
• What is the usual way of policy-making? Which
  actors are involved, what exactly is the role of
  the regional parliament, where do policy
  proposals come from, what kind of monitoring and
  or evaluation are being used, to what extent are
  policy results being accounted for, what kind of
  scrutiny procedures do exist? Focus on spatial
  development and economic development
• (In what respect can best practices be
  distinguished? In what context and why are they
  perceived as best practices? Can they be
  transferred to other partners?)

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Regional Government France (1)

• Main levels of government in France
• Nation (1)
• Region (22)
• Department (96)
• Municipality (36.763)
• Responsibilities of the regions
• The regions can be characterized as a typical
  intermediate layer . The region is responsible
  for economic development, land management and
  vocational training. The most important
  competence and strategic weapon is the
  negotiating and signing of five year contracts.
• Responsibilities of the regions under ordinary
  law
• Regional vocational training development plan
  implementation of initial and further training
  schemes for young people and adults
  apprenticeships
• Creation, construction, maintenance and operation
  of high schools and establishments for specialist
  education
• Preparation of the regional development and land
  use plan State-region planning contract
• Regional plan general interest links
• Regional passenger transport
• Direct aid (in accordance with EU rules)
  indirect aid for companies stakeholding in
  regional development and regional financing
  companies
• Regional nature reserves
• Environmental protection heritage and sites
  board listing of historical monuments regional
  air quality plan classification of regional
  nature reserves

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Regional Government France (2)

• Main actors of the regions
• Regional Councils
• Elected for six years. Electoral system is mixed
  and combines proportional representation and
  majority rule.
• The president of the regional council (elected by
  the council members from among their number) has
  executive power in the region and is head of the
  regional administration.
• Regional Prefects
• Appointed by the central government.
• Involved in the coordination of devolved national
  policy on the regional level.
• Play a crucial role in the process around the
  contrat de plan état-régions and have a task in
  monitoring and retrospective verification of the
  regional government.

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Regional Government Germany (1)

• Federalist state
• Germany is a federalist state (Bund), consisting
  of 16 member states (Bundesländer). Any power
  that is not specifically attributed to the
  federal government resides with the states. The
  Länder are not hierarchically subordinated to the
  federal state. On the other hand, if federal laws
  do exist, they will take precedence over Land
  law.
• Responsibilities of the Länder
• All policy areas not assigned to federal
  jurisdiction in Germany are within the
  legislative purview of the Länder. In fact,
  however, the federal level has most of the
  legislative and policy making powers.
• Core competences of the Länder are education,
  universities, nature conservation, water, health,
  cultural affairs and media (press, radio and
  television), local authority matters and the
  police. In these areas the Länder have their own
  legislative powers and can determine their own
  policy, as long as they stay within the framework
  of the federal laws.
• On some policy areas the Länder are responsible
  together with the federal state (Bund), namely
  criminal law, immigration, housing, and laws on
  the environment.

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Regional Government Germany (2)

• Main Actors in German Regional Government
• Regional State Parliament (Landtag)
• Elected by direct universal suffrage.
• The formal legislative power.
• Elects and appoints the prime minister of the
  state and must authorize the regional budget.
• Competencies are mainly of a controlling nature.
• Prime Minister (Ministerpräsident )
• Appoints the ministers of the regional
  government, determines the political guidelines
  for the regional government (Richtlinienkompetenz)
  , and represents the State towards the outside
  world.
• Regional Government (Landesregierung)
• The regional executive power. It can decide on
  its own on government bills, general political
  affairs, important regional projects, and appoint
  the top civil servants.
• Participates in the federal upper house
  (Bunderrat).
• Answerable to the State Parliament.
• Land administration (Regierungsbezirk)
• In some federal states a separate land
  administration exists, headed by the
  Regierungspräsident, who is appointed by the
  prime minister. The Regierungsbezirk is
  responsible for district and urban authorities

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Regional Government Poland (1)

• Main levels of government in Poland
• State (1)
• Voivodships (16)
• Powiaty (315)
• Gminy (/- 2500)
• Responsibilities of the voivodships
• Economic development, including also
  international economic relations and regional
  promotion
• Education running post secondary schools,
  secondary and vocational schools, teacher
  training centres, Voivodeships libraries
• Specialised health services, medical emergency
  and ambulance service
• Cultural running cultural institution which have
  a regional service
• Social welfare counteracting unemployment
• Modernisation of rural areas
• Spatial development
• Water management, land amelioration and
  maintenance of hydroinstallation
• Sustainable development, environmental protection
  and management of natural resources
• Development of regional infrastructure

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Regional Government Poland (2)

• Main actors in Polish regional government
• Regional council
• The legislative and supervisory agency of the
  area.
• Elects from among its members also the Chairman
  of the council and several Vice Chairpersons
  (constituting the Presidium of the Council).
• Board of the Voivodeship
• Executive Committee of the Voivodeship.
• The Marshal
• Chairs the board and functions as chief
  executive officer of the Marshal's Office of the
  Region, the employer of all Office staff, as well
  as director of institutions over which the Region
  has jurisdiction. Responsible for organising the
  work of the Board and the day-to-day operations
  of the Region and representing the Region.
• Governor
• Appointed by the Prime Minister upon nomination
  of the Interior Minister and responsible for
  protecting the interests of the state and
  coordinating the work of the government
  administration with the regional self-government.

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Regional Government The Netherlands (1)

• Main levels of government
• State (1)
• Provinces (12)
• Municipalities (467)
• Responsibilities of regional government
• Policy-making tasks at a considerable number of
  policy-fields Mainly of a planning nature.
• Administration Proposing amalgamations of
  municipalities and waterboards. Supervising
  inter-municipal co-operations.
• Public Safety Supervision. Co-ordination by
  Queens Commissioner during crises.
• Transport Maintenance of provincial roads.
  Contracting public transport (rural areas).
• Water Supervising waterboards. Formulating
  integral water plans.
• Environment Planning. Licenses.
• Tourism, wildlife Subsidising, planning.
• Economical and agricultural affairs Subsidising,
  planning.
• Welfare and culture Subsidising, planning.
• Reegional broadcasts Subsidising
• Spatial Planning Regional plans (mainly
  non-binding). Supervising municipalities spatial
  policies.

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Regional Government The Netherlands (2)

• Main actors in regional government
• Provicial Council
• Elected every four year. Head of the province.
  Chief tasks are legislation, deciding on the main
  policies and the budget.
• Appoints the members of the executive committee
  (Gedeputeerde Staten), except the centrally
  appointed Queens Commissioner.
• Elects the members of the Senate, the First
  Chamber of the national Parliament.
• Executive Committee
• Two kinds of members First the Gedeputeerde
  Staten, appointed by the council.. Second, the
  Queens Commissioner
• The Queens Commissioner
• Appointed by central government for six years.
  The Queens Commissioner has two distinct roles.
  First as the chair of both council and executive
  committee. Second, as a servant of national
  government. As such, he has to supervise the
  legality of decisions made by the council or the
  executive committee.
• Civil Service
• The executive committee is supported by a number
  of civil servants, chaired by the provincial
  secretary. Since the dualisation, the council has
  its own, rather modest, civil service, chaired by
  the council secretary (Statengriffier).

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Citizen consultation

• Involvement of actors outside the regional
  institutions seems to be rather weak, in all
  countries. As far as involvement exists, it is of
  a reluctant nature. Civil society is being
  consulted, but co-production hardly takes place.
  Citizens seem only to play a role as subjects and
  voters.
• In France and Poland actual citizens
  participation is almost non-existent, in the
  Netherlands citizens are being consulted now and
  then, while regional governments in Germany have
  the strongest possibilities of co-decision-making
  by the citizenry, that is, referenda. But, as was
  stated above, they hardly have any practical
  significance.

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Policy-making scope

• The scope of policy-making is widest in the
  German Länder. Dutch provinces are rather
  multi-functioned, though the kind of policies is
  often of a planning and coordinating nature.
  Polish Voivodeships have limited functions,
  though their powers regarding regional
  development seem to be rather extensive.

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Policy-making initiatives preparation

• Initiatives, in general, come from executive
  committees. There are exceptions sometimes the
  initiative comes from civil servants, from
  parties in the council or societal groups.
• Preparation of policy proposals is mostly the
  task of civil servants in interaction with the
  executive committees.

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Policy-making policy process in general

• Generally speaking, regional councils are only
  involved at two moments in the policy-making
  processes final decision-making and scrutinising
  and evaluating policy outcomes. Only in the
  Netherlands, and maybe now and then in Poland,
  councils sometimes have a role in the beginning
  of a policy process, setting the stage and taking
  initial decisions.

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Policy-making influence amendments

• In general, we may conclude, that executive
  committees and councils are the most influential
  actors.
• In most countries, councils now and then change
  the proposals. In Germany and the Netherlands
  this is most visible, in France less. Polish
  regional councils apparently are a little
  reluctant.

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Policy-making duration implementation

• Duration The only conclusion possible is it
  depends.
• Implementation Generally speaking, policies
  decided upon by regional councils, are
  implemented. In some cases they get slightly
  altered during the implementation.

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Policy-making Big changes?

• France decentralisation, new legal capacities
  for county councils
• Germany No
• Poland Introduction of counties and regions,
  changes due to joining the European Union
• The Netherlands The dualisation operation

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Conclusion Differences

• There are essential differences between the
  countries, especially in the formal arrangements
  on regional government. A large variety between
  countries in structure and functioning of
  regional government and differentiation of
  regional government within countries.
• In Germany and Poland the largest cities have
  special positions. Regional government there, has
  no jurisdiction over the largest cities.
• In the Netherlands only a very moderate degree of
  differentiation exists within the system of
  government.
• In the federal system in Germany the states have
  all those responsibilities that are not
  explicitly attributed to the Bund.

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Conclusion Similarities (1)

• In all countries the midlevel (regional)
  government appears to be composed of more than
  one type of government.
• Changes in the structure of regional government
  are in the direction of more levels of regional
  government (as in France) and a more powerful and
  explicit place for local and regional government
  (like in Poland).
• Tasks and responsibilities of regional government
  are in all the countries a complex mix of
  autonomy and co-governance together with national
  administration. The specific mix and the
  discretionary freedom varies from country to
  country.

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Conclusion Similarities (2)

• Regional government often has a kind of dual
  structure with on the one hand a directly elected
  representative council that elects its daily
  board and is supported by an administrative
  apparatus of its own. At the other hand there
  often is a kind of representative of national
  government, an official or organization acting as
  supervisor on behalf of national government and
  administration.
• In all countries regional government has a
  certain internal differentiation. There always is
  a directly elected representative council, which
  elects its own daily board or executive (in some
  countries, like the Netherlands the chairman
  however is appointed by central government).

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Conclusion Similarities (3)

• In most countries the daily board and
  administrative organization are supposed to have
  more influence on policy formation and execution
  than the council.
• Regional government seems to experience a lot of
  external pressure. Dissatisfaction within and
  outside of regional government seems to be an
  important stimulus for change. In past years
  there have been at least attempts to change
  structure and functioning of regional government
  in all the four countries.
• Part of the responsibilities of regional
  government seems to be long-term planning tasks,
  especially in the fields of spatial and economic
  development.

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Conclusion Similarities (4)

• Direct citizen participation is rather limited
  and focused on very specific topics (like some
  decisions on spatial planning or environment).
• Policy initiatives seldom come from regional
  councils themselves but rather from daily boards
  or from within the administrative apparatus.