Local Taxation and Fiscal Policy Research Group

The social challenges of recent years have placed a considerable burden on the functioning of local governments in our region. In this context, local authorities play a significant role in dealing with crises. Their functioning and community cohesion are essential to carrying out state tasks and delivering public services to the population. The framework for their operation is provided on the one hand by the regulatory environment, which typically grants a high degree of autonomy to local authorities in the region. Still, on the other hand, this regulatory autonomy needs to be accompanied by a high degree of financial and budgetary independence. Otherwise, there is a risk that the actual autonomy of local authorities will be lost or reduced to a deficient level. A significant foundation of municipal autonomy is their budgetary autonomy, both on the revenue and expenditure side. The research group's study would cover this fiscal autonomy in the context of local revenues, local taxes, borrowing rules, expenditure planning, financial controls, and their dependence on central budgets. The research group aims to bring together academic experts in the region and to promote opportunities for joint co-authored research and publications.

Examining the Harmonization Issues of the EU Regulation on Digital Services Research Group

State regulation of media platforms is becoming increasingly important as more and more people turn to these platforms as sources of information and as forums for political and social discourse. One such regulatory framework is the EU DSA/DMA package, which introduces significant regulatory changes in this area. There are many different motivations behind state regulation of media platforms. Some view this regulation as ensuring that the information shared on these platforms is accurate and trustworthy. Others see it as means of controlling the spread of hate speech or preventing the spread of false or misleading information that is harmful to society. However, despite the various motivations behind the state regulation of media platforms, there are also many criticisms. Some argue that state regulation of media platforms can have a chilling effect on free speech by discouraging people from sharing their opinions and perspectives online and polarises opinion and society. Others argue that governments can use state regulation to silence opposition voices and control the flow of information in harmful ways to democracy. Overall, state regulation of media platforms is a complex issue that raises essential questions about the role of government in regulating the flow of information and the extent to which this regulation is necessary to protect the public. Whether state regulation of media platforms is beneficial or harmful depends on the specific ways it is implemented and its motivations. The primary task of the research team is to analyze the practical challenges of implementing the DSA/DMA package in the Member States and examine its application's risks and challenges. In addition, the research group aims to bring together academic experts in the region and to promote opportunities for joint co-authored research and publications.