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Regional Institutions in Europe

Input to the discussions in the frame of the workshops from the members of the Regional Development Councils (RDC) in Moldova October 2013

Stefan Elsing Dipl.-Ing. Spatial & Regional Planning


GIZ-expert, Modernisation of Local Public Services in the Republic of Moldova

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For the purpose of these workshops for the RDCs in Moldova

not only those States with well-established regional level government and administration like Poland or Germany are of interest! In particular countries without regional self-governance - including, Latvia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia etc. - may be even more interesting to be analysed as potential benchmarks

... hand outs!!!

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Vertical State organisation in Europe

There are basically three types of vertical State organisation in Europe:


1. Federations, 2. Regionalised States and 3. Unitary States.

A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions (subnational units) exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate.
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Federation: Germany, Land Brandenburg


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Joint Spatial Planning for the region State planning thats the superior, supra-regional and interdisciplinary planning for the spatial development of a federal state. In Berlin and Brandenburg, these planning activities are performed with joint responsibility of two federal states. Since 1996 the Joint Spatial Planning Department of Berlin and Brandenburg (GL Gemeinsame Landesplanungsabteilung) has been responsible for regional development and state planning in Berlin and Brandenburg. The Joint Spatial Planning Department creates important fundamentals for promoting growth and developing the infrastructure in the entire region. In cooperation with the institutions of technical planning, the local authorities and the citizens, the joint spatial planning department prepares future-oriented framework conditions of regional planning for the development of the capital region. ...
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The Joint Spatial Planning Department prepares state development plans and partial plans of the state development programme being the framework for state development. The state development programme (LEPro 2007) The state development plan of Berlin-Brandenburg (LEP B-B) A partial state development plan (LEP FS) focussing on the new airport BBI was prepared that entered into force on 16 June 2006. The plans focused on former brown-coal mining sites and on their rehabilitation are elaborated as spatial and objective partial plans by the state planning authority and are adopted by the Brandenburg state government as legal provisions.
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The Joint Spatial Planning Department ensures the adaptation of the master development and town planning schemes in Berlin and Brandenburg to the objectives of regional development and thus focuses on the implementation of the State Development Plan at municipal level.

In order to check the spatial compatibility of big projects of spatial importance the Joint Spatial Planning Department performs regional planning procedures.

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Structure of the Joint Spatial Planning Department Head of department; Permanent deputy of Unit GL 1 Unit GL 2 Unit GL 3 Strategic Planning and Law European Spatial Development State Development Programme and Regional Development Plans Regional Development and Structural Policy Implementation of the Regional Development Plans Northern Region

Unit GL 4 Unit GL 5

Unit GL 6

Implementation of the Regional Development Plans Southern Region, Brown Coal Areas
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Regional Planning in Brandenburg Regional planning translates the provisions derived from the state development programme and the state development plans into the regional plan.
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Institutions

The Regional Planning Associations are the supporting organisations in the Brandenburg State. The administrative districts and autonomous municipality authorities within the region are members thereof. The Regional Assembly is the decision-taking body of the Regional Planning Association. It consists of a maximum of 40 born regional counsellors: from the county commissioners and the mayors of the autonomous municipality authorities, also the mayors of municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants;
Representatives of chambers, associations and others associated with the development of regional institutions - as non-voting, advisory members of the regional assembly.
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Institutions The regional board performs the duties assigned by the regional assembly.

Members: chairman of the Regional Planning Association and the other members of the Regional Board elected by the regional assembly.

The Regional Planning Offices


act as offices/ secretariats of the planning associations. They prepare the regional plans and present them for the purpose of decision-taken by the bodies of the regional planning associations.

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Optional: Regional Plans, Regional Development Concepts

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Ensuring regional planning is realised by three tools in the planning region of Berlin Brandenburg that are regulated in the regional development act and in the state planning contract: 1. Adjustment of urban land-use planning to the objectives of regional development by building law. In order to guarantee the municipalities contact the Joint Spatial Planning Department at the beginning of a procedure on urban land-use planning to get to know the objectives of regional development for the respective planning zone. If a municipality in Brandenburg does not fulfil its obligation to adjust the state government may request the municipality, under certain preconditions, to prepare or modify urban land-use plans. 2. The prohibition of spatially important planning processes and measures by the Joint Spatial Planning Department toavoid that the implementation of efficient targets of regional development or of those ones being under development are rendered impossible or essentially aggravated. 3. As regards planning procedures and measures that might be spatially important in the individual case and that are of supra-regional importance (e.g. trunk roads, high-voltage overhead lines, shopping malls) the Joint Spatial Planning Department performs regional planning procedures.
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Ensuring targeted planning and spatially related actions requires detailed knowledge of the current spatial structures and forecasts regarding spatially efficient development processes. .

Regional Development Report

Spatial planning registers


Regional Monitoring

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Regionalised State: UK, England Interesting due to recent developments ... Devolution assymetrical regionalisation ...

Localism instead of regionalism; National planning principles instead of regional coordination

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Regionalised State: UK, England Before (until 2011): Responsibility for achieving the governments regional development targets: Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) Nine regional ministers appointed to strengthen the links between the central government and the regions in England.

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Regionalised State: UK, England

Regional Assemblies in the eight plus one regions


Role included checking their regional development agencies;

integrating policy development and enhancing partnership working at the regional level across the social, economic and environmental policy agenda; carrying out a wide range of advocacy and consultancy roles with UK government bodies and the European Union.
Acting as a Regional Planning Body with a duty to formulate a Regional Spatial Strategy including Regional Transport Strategy, replacing the planning function of county councils. But: public profile was low!
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Regionalised State: UK, England The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) are / were councils (!) made up of local business representatives and members of public commissions appointed by the central government. RDAs were to set strategic priorities and allocate funding But: had to take central government policy objectives into account and meet performance targets set by central government. RDAs were seen as crucial to vertical and horizontal co-ordination of Regional policies, as well as having responsibility for managing the 20072013 ERDF programmes.
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Regionalised State: UK, England Now (since 2011):


National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Local Development Frameworks in conformity with the NPPF A Minister of State for Decentralisation was appointed with the mandate to progress the coalition government's commitment to giving away power. Responsible for decentralisation and localism: Department for Communities and Local Government"(DCLG) The "Structural Reform Plan" sets out how the Department's activities over the period to 2015 are expected to put decision making in the hands of local authorities, and to make central and local government more transparent.

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Regionalised State: UK, England Now (since 2011): The Localism Bill abolished the 8 RDAs outside London as well as the London Development Agency (LDA), whose functions and assets will be transferred to the Greater London Authority (GLA). By March 2012, responsibility for economic development and regeneration was passed onto successor bodies, including LEPs and central Government departments, mainly the DCLG. For the operation and delivery of the ERDF, the purposes and tasks of the RDA will be taken over by the DCLG.

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Regionalised State: UK, England Now (since 2011): Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) are newly created business/local authority partnerships with private sector chairs; Are involved in planning and investing in projects such as enterprise support, infrastructure and transport; Take over many of the RDA's activities. Some functions will remain nationally-led, e.g. business support, innovation, low-carbon economy, but these will take into account LEP capabilities and priorities.
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Regionalised State: UK, England Now (since 2011): No regional ministers - the new government plans to boost the role of elected local authorities in supporting local economic recovery and growth rather than through regional or national bodies. New rights and powers to allow local communities to shape new development by coming together to prepare neighbourhood plans. Conditions are: they must have regard to national planning policy they must be in general conformity with strategic policies in the development plan for the local area (i.e. such as in a core strategy) they must be compatible with EU obligations and human rights requirements. Page 23

Unitary States: Latvia ... Most similar in terms of structure, financing, cooperation with national and local levels

Division into 5 statistical regions: the Riga region, including the cities of Riga and Jurmala and the district of Riga; regions of Vidzeme, Kurzeme, Zemgale and Latgale)
This division aligns best with the NUTS level 3 regional criteria. It is closely based on the administrative territorial division of Latvia during the first period of independence.
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Unitary States: Latvia


The National Regional Development Council shall perform the following functions in respect of regional development, spatial planning and land policy:
evaluate policy planning documents and draft regulatory enactments in relation to regional policy, spatial planning and in the field of land policy; evaluate regional level planning documents, and facilitate their mutual compatibility and co-ordination with State level policy planning documents; examine reports regarding the course of the implementation of regional policy, spatial planning and land policy and provide proposals for the improvement of the referred to policies; evaluate proposals regarding regional development support measures and reports regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of the relevant measures, ensuring the mutual co-ordination of regional development support measures; evaluate criteria for the territorial division of regional development support measure financing; and perform other functions prescribed by regulatory enactments.
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Unitary States: Latvia 5 planning regions were established for the development planning purpose [Regional Development Law, latest amendment: 8 November 2007].

Planning regions are secondary or derived public persons which act on the regional administrative level.
The decision making body is planning region development council. It is elected by the general meeting of all local self-governments' chairman in the planning region from the deputies of the respective municipalities. The Chairman of the Planning Region Development Council is elected from the elected members of the council.

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Unitary States: Latvia The planning region's functions are to ensure development planning of the region, coordination, cooperation of the municipalities and other public institutions, manage and control the preparation and implementation of development programmes and spatial plans; evaluate correspondence of the national plan, national development plan and sectoral development programmes with the planning region's documents; evaluate project applications of the local authorities and private persons for the regional development state support and give resolutions on them.
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Unitary States: Latvia Planning region development council confirms planning region's statutes and budget.

It has rights to develop, reorganize and liquidate planning region's institutions and to delegate its functions.
The Chairman of the planning region development councils or their representatives have rights to take part in the work of the National Regional Development Council. Planning region development council meetings are open and representatives of state administration institutions, nongovernmental organizations, entrepreneurs and other planning regions' municipalities can participate in the meeting.
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Unitary States: Latvia Planning Region's Cooperation Commission is developed in every planning region to ensure coordination and cooperation with the national level institutions and planning regions in the implementation process of the regional development support activities. The Commission's meetings are open and representatives of the planning region development council and cooperation coordinators of ministries participate in them in this way ensuring information exchange between the planning region and the respective ministry.

Planning Regions are active Partners in many international cooperation projects, ...

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Unitary States: Latvia

Regional Development Law:


Relevant sections in the hand outs!

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