Obligatory Tasks of Self-Government ? A Way to Better Efficiency?

In decentralised Europe, a regional self-government constitutes an important factor directly influencing the life of citizens in a given region. It is the outlined obligatory tasks where the public expenditure of self-governments should aim. An analysis of the legislation of European countries, having the obligatory tasks both defined as well as non-defined, and a comparison of the expenditure of their towns with the tasks defined by legislation all helped determine the most frequently represented obligatory tasks. Simultaneously the share of these tasks in the municipality budgets was scrutinised. The article aims at finding out whether the definition of the self-governments? so-called obligatory tasks in jurisprudence ensures saturation of the public interest and enhances the efficiency of municipal self-governments? activities, which has been proven by the research. At the same time, public supervision, education of the public in the field of state administration, training of elected representatives and a legal ?failsafe? against indebting the self-governments is considered fundamental.