Overview
Representatives of the Government of the Republic and the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities will hold annual negotiations on the state budget strategy for the next four years. The state budget for the upcoming year needs to agree on the revenue base, the equalisation fund, and state budget subsidies and its distribution to local governments within the proposal of the annual state budget law. Sectoral policies directly affecting local governments are also discussed during the negotiations.
The Minister of Regional Affairs chairs the Government Committee. The Government Committee consists of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Climate, the Ministry of Culture, two representatives of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Communications, representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities is represented by the members of the negotiating delegation approved by the council of the association.
In preparation for the negotiations, working groups have been organised under the leadership of the Ministry responsible for the area. These include the following:
- Working group on Monetary and Tax Policy;
- Working group on Education and Youth;
- Working group on Labour, Social Affairs, and Health;
- Working group on Transport and Roads;
- Working group on Information and Communication Technologies;
- Working group on Culture and Sport;
- Working group on Environmental Issues;
- Working group on Spatial Planning, Housing and Land;
- Working group on Integration
A more detailed overview of the negotiations for a particular year can be found on the website of the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities.
Supporting the capacity of local governments to perform their tasks and achieve strategic goals is also related to the development of local government policy. It is the joint responsibility of the ministries to ensure that the necessary competencies are developed and kept up to date for the implementation of sectoral policies.
The role of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is primarily to identify the training and development needs of local government personnel, and coordinate activities and information exchange between the ministries, the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities, and the State Shared Services Centre.
The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture is also responsible for planning and implementing key development activities for local government leaders and specialists in development, entrepreneurship, and planning. Until 2023, horizontal training and development activities will be funded by the Central Training Programme. The most recent examples of the Central Training Programme are the Local Government Leaders Development Programme on social, educational, and youth affairs for deputy mayors and mayors of rural municipalities and the ongoing Local Government Service Development Programme.
Portal MinuOmavalitsus (My Municipality)
The web portal MinuOmavalitsus.ee aims to provide better local services throughout Estonia.
The website helps to do the following:
- get an overview of the state of services and development possibilities in each local government so as to direct local development based on this information;
- compare local governments’ service levels which contributes to sharing experiences;
- raise public awareness of the organisation of local services and increase citizens’ informed involvement in discussing local priorities.
OECD
In 2020, a pilot meeting of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) working group took place on multi-level governance and public investment supporting regional development. The first meeting of the working group focused on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.
Additionally, the focus of further work is on enhancing coordination between levels of government to support regional development, which is also an important priority for Estonia at the moment in the field of local and regional government.
European Council
At the Council of Europe, the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) focuses on local governance issues. It provides a forum for national governments to exchange experiences and monitor developments in democratic governance.
The CDDG aims to support public sector reform, strengthen democratic institutions, facilitate decentralisation, and improve citizen involvement and public sector ethics at all levels of government. The working group also has the sub-groups of Democracy and Technology (GT-DT) and Accountability (GT-RE).
Last updated: 13.11.2023
