УДК: 303:352

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36887/2415-8453-2023-4-64

Lobyk Olesya,
Acting Associate Professor,
Lviv Institute, Interregional Academy of Personnel Management,
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7184-1830

JEL classification: R10, P35, H61

It has been studied that the reform of local self-government in the EU countries took place with different intensity and specific features, starting from the middle of the last century, so in the countries of Western Europe, this stage took place a long time ago, and in Central and Eastern Europe the reforms began much later. The scientific article explores the issue of forming the financial and economic potential in communities of European Union countries. The focus is on the main stages of local self-government reform in European Union countries, including the reform of the administrative-territorial structure, changes in budget and tax legislation, and the formation of organizational and functional powers. The purpose of the research is to analyze the peculiarities of forming the financial and economic potential of territorial communities in European Union countries during the reform of local self-government and the formation of capable territorial communities. It is established that the formation of administrative-territorial units of different levels in European Union countries was guided by the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS), which defines five levels of territorial units. It is determined that the principal tax payments that flow into the budgets of local self-government bodies in European Union countries are income tax, property tax, and business tax. The research reveals that the primary responsibilities assigned to local self-government bodies in EU countries include services in the areas of land use and planning, culture, education, water supply and wastewater management, and public transportation. Other services are provided depending on the state. It is established that Ukraine has utilized best practices of European reforms, and the primary goal of each state is the quality provision of social services to residents, which in turn depends on the development of social infrastructure (water pipelines, sewage networks, schools, preschools, sports infrastructure), which requires the involvement of significant financial resources, both internal and external.

Keywords: local self-government bodies, territorial communities, financial and economic potential, European Union, taxes, and fees.

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The article was received 22.09.2023