Numbering over 92,000, the local authorities of the European Union account for 65% of public investment and represented 16% of Europe’s GDP in 2008 (Dexia-CCRE). While the form may differ from one country to another (specifically between federal, unitary and regional systems) especially in terms of sharing responsibilities and the number of administrative levels, local authorities share certain common characteristics: legal profile, competencies, and decision making capacity.

All major issues for local authorities across Europe, especially during economic crisis, are: modernized relationship with citizens, rarefaction of available financial resources, transfer of powers from the State (e.g. France), increasing “globalisation” and decentralization in public policy (e.g. UK, Spain, Italy), issues of transparency and evaluation (e.g. Norway), complex equalization payments (e.g. Germany), redefining and optimization of the modes of payment (new taxes, debt management) in Europe,. Substantial reforms, well advanced as in the UK or recently launched, are also managed by local actors.

Our contribution in this context of changes is based on multiple levels of intervention such as transformation of policy orientations for operational reform programs, improvement of the “citizen relationship management”, improvement of the effectiveness and operational efficiency of local public bodies through organizational and operational redesign, support for the personnel aspects of ongoing reforms, concerning for example the accountability of local managers and the repositioning of civil servants at the heart of public performance.

At EUROGROUP CONSULTING, we help local authorities to achieve their necessary reforms thanks to our expertise and understanding of issues they are facing.