Inter-municipal cooperation is frequent in Slovenia and Europe as well. Cooperation occurs in various forms and extent as well as in various fields, mainly due to financial and staffing issues. The aim of this thesis is to present and analyse inter-municipal cooperation between the municipalities of Kobarid, Bovec and Tolmin. The focus is put on the form, reasons and factors that affect the cooperation. The municipalities are connected by history, culture and other social and geographical features which affect the diverse development of inter-municipal cooperation.
In the analysis of the inter-municipal cooperation in the selected municipalities, the case study method was used to analyse the fields of cooperation. We also conducted interviews with the directors of municipal administrations of all three municipalities, and by comparing their answers, we determined all the existing forms of inter-municipal cooperation. We also tried to determine the key reasons, advantages and disadvantages of the determined forms of inter-municipal cooperation. Furthermore, the interviews provided a general view of the municipalities about the role of the state in this field and the potential possibilities for the development of new forms of inter-municipal cooperation.
The results show that between the municipalities, there are eight examples of inter-municipal cooperation in five different forms, which are mainly of formal nature and performed in the field of services of general interest. The municipalities are not satisfied with the role of the state and demand more attention and recognition in addressing their concrete needs. In the future, the municipalities hope for more cooperation in legal and spatial matters, which they would include into the existing Joint Municipal Administration. Performing additional tasks within the Joint Municipal Administration could mean more co-financing and consequently better optimization of costs in performing the tasks.
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