Estonia to abolish county gov'ts: report

The Estonian government decided to abolish the country's county governments due to the current municipal mergers and the massive reduction of the number of local governments, the local media reported on Wednesday.

The system of county governments will be given up with their task to be passed on to the municipalities and state institutions, the Estonian Public Broadcasting reported.

"This in no case means that the competence to make decisions will be concentrated in Tallinn, because the local level will still have to play a key role," said Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas while making the announcement.

He added that the government has also decided to take part of the state's institutions to different counties.

The move aims to come up with a sustainable model of local government with the state and the municipalities' rights and obligations regulated by means of clear agreements, the municipalities' decision-making competence extended, and every local government given the means to offer the best possible public service, Ratas said, indicating that local governments could be given the power to collect taxes.

The ongoing implementation of the Administrative Reform Act will reshape Estonia's territorial division with an aim to reduce the number of municipalities by merging them with their neighbors, said the report. Endit