Keywords
separation of powers
multi-level governance
local self-government
decentralization
subsidiarity principle
fiscal autonomy
public administration
security challenges
post-war reconstruction
How to Cite
Abstract
The article examines the transformation of the separation of powers between executive and local government bodies in the European Union countries within the context of today’s challenges caused by economic dynamics, digitalization, and increasing security risks. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to find effective tools for balancing powers within multi-level governance, in particular, through the use of contractual mechanisms as an alternative to traditional hierarchical models of decentralization. As a result, based on a comparative analysis, it was demonstrated that, in EU countries, there is a transition to hybrid and negotiated models of the separation of powers, in which formalized intergovernmental agreements play a key role. A multidimensional model for assessing the maturity of the separation of powers systems was developed, which includes institutional, functional, personal, and procedural dimensions, as well as mechanisms of checks and balances. The application of this model to the analysis of cases (state-regional planning contracts of France, the economic agreement of the Basque Country, the fiscal framework of Scotland, as well as contractual mechanisms of Italy and Poland) allowed systematizing the main types of contractual models: coordination, autonomous, and hybrid. It was found that the most mature ones are systems that combine institutional stability with financial autonomy and developed procedural mechanisms. It was also established that current trends in the EU are characterized by the simultaneous expansion of local government functions and increased centralization of strategic powers in response to security challenges and energy instability. To sum up, it is proven that contractual mechanisms represent an effective tool for coordinating the interests of different levels of government and increasing the adaptability of the public administration system. The prospects of their application in Ukraine are substantiated, in particular, through the implementation of state-regional contracts, hybrid fiscal models and the integration of the security component into the local government system. The results of the study confirm that the contractual approach contributes to the implementation of the subsidiarity principle and increases the effectiveness of multi-level governance in the context of modern transformations.
References
1. Andreu, J., & Simonelli, M. (2022). Populism and contemporary democracy in Europe: Old problems and new challenges. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92884-1
2. Androniceanu, A., Georgescu, I., & Oana, S. (2022). The impact of digitalization on public administration, economic development, and well-being in the EU countries. Central European Public Administration Review, 20(2), 9–31. https://doi.org/10.17573/cepar.2022.2.01
3. Balme, R., & Bonnet, L. (1994). From regional to local: The reform of French regional government. Regional & Federal Studies, 4(3), 1–20.
4. Baraggia, A., Fasone, C., & Vanoni, L. (2020). New challenges to the separation of powers: Dividing power. Edward Elgar Publishing.
5. Better Regulation Practices across the European Union 2025 (2025? September 29). OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/6f007516-en
6. Charbit, C., & Romano, O. (2017). Governing together: An international review of contracts across levels of government for regional development. OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2017/04, OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ff7c8ac4-en
7. Cole, A. (2017). French Politics and Society (3rd ed.). Routledge.
8. Committee of the Regions (CoR). (2024). France: Systems of multilevel governance. European Committee of the Regions. https://portal.cor.europa.eu/divisionpowers/Pages/France-Systems-of-multilevel-governance.aspx
9. COSLA (n.d,). Scottish Local Government Assurance and Improvement Framework. https://lnk.ua/KW5j7m4CM
10. European Committee of the Regions. (2019). Division of Powers. https://cor.europa.eu/en/our-work/division-of-powers
11. Ghisi, M. (2010). Towards a transmodern transformation of our global society: European challenges and opportunities. Journal of Futures Studies, 15(1), 39–48. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265072132
12. Gustedt, E., Grabski-Kieron, U., Demazière, Ch., Paris, D. (Eds.) (2022). Cities and metropolises in France and Germany. Verlag der ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Hannover. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366030335_Cities_and_Metropolises_in_France_and_Germany
13. Herrero, F., & López, A. (2015). A Fiscal Path to Sovereignty? The Basque Economic Agreement and Nationalist Politics. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 21(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537113.2015.1003489
14. Husiak, M. (2020). Statutne pravo Italii: istoryko-pravovi tradytsii ta suchasnyi stan [Italian statutory law: historical and legal traditions and current state]. Filosofski ta Metodolohichni Problemy Prava, 1(19), 76–88. https://doi.org/10.33270/02201901.76 (in Ukrainian)
15. Jandrevska, M. (2026, April 10). Decentralized responsibilities without decentralized resources? Decentralization. https://decentralization.net/2026/04/decentralized-responsibilities-without-decentralized-resources
16. Ivanković, I. (2026). Savremeni izazovi, rizici i pretnje za Evropsku uniju [Modern challenges, risks and threats to the European Union]. Bezbednost, Beograd, 68(1), 147–165. https://doi.org/10.5937/bezbednost2601147I (in Serbian)
17. Kosař, D., Baroš, J., & Dufek, P. (2019). The twin challenges to separation of powers in Central Europe: Technocratic governance and populism. European Constitutional Law Review, 15(3), 427–461. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1574019619000336
18. Kuhlmann, S., Proeller, I., Schimanke, D., Ziekow, J. (2021). Public administration in Germany. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53697-8
19. Loughlin, J., & Hendriks, F. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford Handbook of Local and Regional Democracy in Europe. Oxford University Press. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303498560
20. Maňas, J. (2026). Rules without power, power without rules: Discretionary planning and the limits of urban governance in post-socialist Prague. Cities, (174), 107093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2026.107093
21. Meuleman, L., & Niestroy, I. (2015). Common but differentiated governance: A metagovernance approach to make the SDGs work. Sustainability, 7(9), 12295–12321. https://doi.org/10.3390/su70912295
22. Mitchell, J. (2024). The Verity House Agreement. Edinburgh Law Review, 28(2). https://doi.org/10.3366/elr.2024.0893
23. Moreno, L. (2001). The Federalization of Spain. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315038711
24. OECD (2022). Regional Governance in OECD Countries: Trends, Typology and Tools. OECD Multi-level Governance Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4d7c6483-en
25. OECD (2023). France: State-region planning contracts (Contrat de plan État-région – CPER). OECD Infrastructure Toolkit. https://infrastructure-toolkit.oecd.org/wp-content/uploads/France_CPER.pdf
26. Panara, C., & Varney, M. (2013). Local government in Europe: The ‘Fourth Level’ in the EU multi-layered system of governance. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203766729
27. Pasquier, R. (2009). The Europeanisation of French regions. French Politics, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.1057/fp.2009.9
28. Riyanta, S., Rustam, M. & Al Waroi, M. (2024). Populism and the erosion of democratic checks and balances: A systematic literature review across regions. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis, 7(10), 4728–4738. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v7-i10-18
29. Sahadžić, M. (2025). The rule of law, the separation of powers, and Big Tech. Pravni Zapisi, 16(1), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.5937/pravzap16-58402
30. Scottish Government. (2023). Fiscal framework: agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments. https://www.gov.scot/publications/fiscal-framework-agreement-between-scottish-uk-governments/
31. Shtefiuk, O. (2025). Peculiarities of the legal regulation of public-service powers of local self-government bodies in the European Union member states. Visegrad Journal on Human Rights, (2), 160–168. https://doi.org/10.61345/1339-7915.2025.2.22
32. Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2016). Metagoverning Collaborative innovation in governance networks. The American Review of Public Administration, 47(7). https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016643181
33. UK Government. (2016). Devolution and you – the Scotland Act 2016 and the fiscal framework. Civil Service Blog. https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/06/devolution-and-you-the-scotland-act-2016-and-the-fiscal-framework/
34. United Kingdom Government & Scottish Government (2023). The Agreement Between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government on the Scottish Government’s Fiscal Framework. Scottish Government. https://lnk.ua/e2G1tQ2oC
35. Weyland, K. (2024). Right-wing and traditionalist populism in Europe. In: Democracy’s Resilience to Populism’s Threat: Countering Global Alarmism (pp. 159–195). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009432504.005
36. Wibisono, E. (2022). Multilevel governance and Smart Specialization in EU regions: An evidence-based critical review. European Journal of Government and Economics, 11(2), 234–250. https://doi.org/10.17979/ejge.2022.11.2.9004%0A
37. Wu, P. (2025). Beyond Separation of Powers: The Dual Models of Limited and Streamlined Government. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537251398587
38. Zubiri, I. (2010). The economic agreement between the Basque Country and Spain. Principles, Characteristics and Economic Implications. Ad Concordiam. https://conciertoeconomico.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/economic_agreement.pdf
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yuriy Shelest