The balance between unification and adaptation in legislative harmonisation: A case study of institutional support for the budget process at the local leve

In today’s globalised world, the issue of legislative harmonisation has gained particular relevance, especially in the context of institutional support for the budget process at the local level. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal balance between unification and adaptation in the process of legislative harmonisation concerning the institutional framework of the local budget process. To achieve this objective, a comprehensive research methodology was employed, including comparative legal analysis, historical-legal method, formal- legal method, as well as systemic, institutional, and functional analysis of the regulatory frameworks of Central and Eastern European countries. The study revealed that the Polish and Estonian approaches demonstrate an effective model of balancing standardisation with localisation, whereby general principles of the budget process are established while preserving flexibility for municipalities. It was established that institutional coordination mechanisms, particularly advisory councils and specialised committees involving representatives from various levels of government, play a key role in achieving this balance. A comprehensive approach to legislative harmonisation was proposed, combining centralised guidance with decentralised implementation, ensuring both adherence to general principles and consideration of local specificities. Key institutional challenges in harmonisation were identified, including insufficient professional training of financial department staff and limited technical capacity in Ukraine and Serbia compared to Poland and Estonia. The necessity of enhancing the institutional capacity of local self-government bodies was substantiated through the introduction of mandatory professional development programmes, improving the regulatory framework by eliminating contradictions between declared local budget autonomy and actual restrictions, and strengthening coordination between national and local levels through specialised mechanisms such as Poland’s Joint Commission. The findings of this study can be utilised in developing legislative harmonisation strategies for countries pursuing European integration and in refining existing mechanisms for coordinating the budget process across different levels of government