2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31178/AUBD.2022.08 

Abstract: Law No. 286/2006, amending and supplementing Law No. 215/2001 on local public administration, introduced the concept of intermunicipal development associations as cooperative structures among several administrative-territorial units aimed at developing projects of common interest. The regulation of intermunicipal development associations has undergone an interesting evolution, and the institution has now been incorporated into the Administrative Code. Given the need to integrate local public services, as well as the development of the “Smart City” concept, new proposals for administrative-territorial reorganization have emerged, while intermunicipal development associations appear to be an intermediate step toward the transition to these new forms of organization. This paper highlights several distinctive features of intermunicipal development associations, as well as controversies arising either from the inconsistent drafting of legislative texts or from their erroneous application. The article proposes the introduction of two criteria for establishing intermunicipal development associations: a demographic criterion and an economic criterion. Furthermore, the article analyzes the compatibility of administrative-territorial subdivisions with intermunicipal development associations, given that such structures already exist with the support of various sectors—a situation that contravenes the law. Finally, the article also addresses the situation at the county level, analyzing the relationship of “subordination” between the county council and the local councils of the municipalities within that county. Such an analysis raises the issue of cooperation within a community development association in which one of the constituent entities is the county, represented by the county council.

Keywords: intermunicipal development associations; cooperative structures; community development; administrative-territorial units; administrative-territorial subdivisions; metropolitan areas.