Acta Universitatis Danubius. Administratio, Vol 2, No 1 (2010)

Abstract

The concept of "unified" or "homogeneous" state authority (in which the local authorities act as representatives of the central government, equivocally subordinated to its directive and control) was rejected and replaced with a dual system, in which the state and the local management act each in its own sphere of influence. However, we should not be surprised by the fact that the reality of local management partly lags behind the normative ideal. Europe is a space of decentralized local communities, the emphasis being placed on decentralization to enable the development of contacts which the hyper-centralized state would not have promoted and could not have tolerated. The decentralization is one of the ways which leads to a sort of European "normality" and that it participates in achieving this goal. Thus, the actual context is quite favourable to diminishing the role of the state, which should focus on its major functions: diplomacy, defence, monetary policy, preserving the economic macro-balance etc. those which stem directly from the national sovereignty, which only the state holds, no matter if it is a unitary or federal one.