Working group on the Draft Law on Local Government Finance on a study visit to Croatia

As part of drafting the Draft Law on Local Government Finance, the working group, with the support of the Helvetas/DEMOS project, made a study visit to the Republic of Croatia.

The delegation, headed by Mr Salvador Elmazi, Director of the Budget, and comprising representatives of line ministries (MLGA, MoH, MLSW, MoF), the Chair of the Collegium of Directors for Budget and Finance of the AKM, the DEMOS project and KLGI, was received in meetings by representatives of Croatian institutions.

On the first day of the visit, the delegation was received at the Croatian Ministry of Finance, where the legislation and the form of funding of local government were presented. This was followed by a separate meeting with the Albanian member of the Croatian Parliament, Ms Ermina Përlaskaj-Lekaj, who spoke about her commitment to strengthening institutional cooperation between the two countries, Croatia and Kosovo. A meeting was also held at the Ministry of Administration, where the delegation learned about the legal framework for the functioning of local government and the reforms undertaken in the field of public administration.

On the second day, the delegation had the opportunity to be briefed by the Croatian Deputy Auditor General on financial management processes. After this, the delegation visited the Municipality of Rugvica, where they were received by the mayor and discussed the functioning of the municipality, its organisational structure, municipal finances and development projects.

The visit concluded with a meeting at the Association of Croatian Municipalities, where the delegation learned about the challenges and successes of local government in Croatia.

The study visit to the Republic of Croatia was a good opportunity to learn about the legislation and policies of this EU member state on local government finance and the functioning of local government in general.