Local autonomy and subsidiarity: a two-way principle

Abstract

Taking into account the decentralisation thought, the role and influence of local government has steadily increased in the last decades. There are still a lot of challenges that governments face in the 21st century: engaging citizens; lack of finance; delivering services; lack of capacity and expertise; socio-economic demographics and so on. But which level of government has to face these challenges? Do different levels of government face these challenges to the same extent? Which level of government is the most appropriate one to act in a specific situation? These questions could be captured as questions of subsidiarity and autonomy. The focus of this paper lies on the powers of local governments. It is our purpose to explore the concept of local autonomy by using the principle of subsidiarity as a guide. On the one hand, subsidiarity is an important principle at the European level. It aims to determine the level of intervention that is most relevant in areas of competences shared between the EU and the Member States. On the other hand, the principle helps to define the concept of ‘local autonomy’. Referring to the European Charter of Local Self-Government, the paper discusses the concepts of ‘local autonomy’ and ‘subsidiarity’. Frequently, constitutional provisions refer only vaguely to local autonomy. The Belgian Constitution is a classic example of this vague reference. In order to help in the clarification of the concept of ‘local autonomy’, a possible solution lies in a local subsidiarity test.