Preparing for Demographic Change in the Banská Bystrica Region, Slovak Republic

1. Assessment and recommendations

The Banská Bystrica region (BBSK), a TL31 region located in central Slovakia, is one of the eight self-governing regions of the Slovak Republic. BBSK is predominantly rural and mountainous. It is the largest region in the Slovak Republic but also the least densely populated: it covers 9 451 km2 and is the 7th in terms of population with 617 777 inhabitants. While the region faces ongoing population decline, youth outmigration, and ageing, parts of the southern territory are experiencing population growth, largely driven by higher birth rates within Roma communities. By 2050, the population of BBSK is projected to decline by 11%, with 29 inhabitants aged 65 or more for every 100 of working age. The outmigration of young, educated residents, driven by a lack of quality local job opportunities and weak alignment between education and labour market needs, undermines the region’s long-term development, while the GDP per capita is already 21% below the national average.

Divided into 13 administrative districts, BBSK counts 516 municipalities, including 24 cities and towns (mesto) and 492 rural municipalities. Of the 516 municipalities, 91% have fewer than 2 000 inhabitants, compared to 28% in the EU on average, highlighting a pronounced degree of municipal fragmentation. A ‘scissors effect’ is emerging in financially strained municipalities, where declining tax revenues coincide with rising per capita costs for essential infrastructure and services, particularly in education. Limited municipal capacity further threatens the delivery of public services, which are underperforming, especially in the south of the region.

The region has several strengths that could be leveraged. First, its natural resources, such as forests and mountainous landscapes, are valuable assets to help address major future challenges in biodiversity protection, as well as for developing the underdeveloped tourism sector and strengthening forestry and wood processing. Second, while predominantly rural, it includes urban centres like Banská Bystrica the region´s capital city, and Zvolen, both located in the north. Urban centres could offer agglomeration benefits, and their universities, such as Matej Bel University, could play a vital role in attracting young talent. These cities can contribute to economic resilience in the face of demographic challenges. Targeted policies that respond to demographic realities, by aligning spatial planning with territorial needs, adapting territorial structures and subnational finance, fostering effective cooperation across all levels of government, and ensuring access to essential services, can help the region leverage its strengths and attractiveness.

Regional profile and key trends

BBSK is experiencing a sharp population decline and rapid ageing

Between 2000 and 2023, population fell by 6.8%2, the largest decrease among Slovak regions. Depopulation affects nearly two-thirds of municipalities. A larger share of elderly population and the related higher death rates, fewer births, due in part to a diminished young population, as well as people moving abroad and to other regions, are driving this trend and will continue to shape population changes. Emigrating residents are disproportionately young, seeking better academic and economic opportunities. Since 2000, the share of population under 35 dropped from 51% to 37% in 2023, while the share over 60 years old increased from 16% to 26%.

The region is home to several minority groups, including Hungarian, Czech, and Roma populations, primarily in the southern districts of Krupina, Veľký Krtíš, Lučenec, Rimavská Sobota and Revúca. BBSK has the third-largest Roma community in the Slovak Republic, accounting for 12.8% of the population. Among young Roma, 67% are not in employment, education, or training, compared to just 12% in the general population, reflecting persistent social and economic exclusion driven by high unemployment, low educational attainment, and labour market discrimination. Unemployment among women is also high in these districts, with rates reaching approximately 20% in certain areas. Higher fertility rates indicate their share of the total population will continue to grow, underscoring the need for effective integration policies.

BBSK is at risk of being in a ‘talent development trap’

The European Commission’s Communication on Harnessing Talent in Europe’s Regions identifies BBSK as one of the 82 regions most at risk of falling into a “talent development trap,” where demographic decline is intensified by the outmigration of young and educated people. BBSK is experiencing a sustained net outmigration of youth, largely driven by limited local job opportunities and a weak alignment between education and labour market needs. In 2022, Central Slovakia, which includes BBSK, recorded a youth net outmigration rate of -0.4%, ten times the national average rate of -0.04% and well below the EU27 average of 1.3%, i.e. other regions have net immigration of young people. Despite the presence of Matej Bel University, many graduates leave in search of better academic and professional prospects. This trend reflects a structural mismatch rather than a simple lack of jobs, as young people migrate regardless of employment status. If left unaddressed, this dynamic could deepen existing labour shortages in key sectors like education and healthcare, weakening the region’s capacity to retain talent and sustain long-term development.

A range of national, regional, and local programmes is in place to help BBSK address demographic decline and avoid the “talent development trap.” National strategies like the Vision for 2030 aim to reduce brain drain through better education and housing, while BBSK’s own plans focus on quality job creation. Municipal initiatives also seek to boost local attractiveness, particularly through cultural development. Participation in the Catching-Up Regions Initiative further supports locally tailored solutions. These coordinated efforts highlight the need for integrated, multi-level action to retain and attract talent.

Despite opportunities, the economy of the region remains less productive

In 2022, BBSK recorded the second-lowest GDP per capita in the Slovak Republic primarily due to lower regional productivity. Employment is high in sectors with relatively low productivity. High employment in the public administration, defense, education, human health and social work activities sector is partly driven by the role of the social economy. Social enterprises promote labour market integration for disadvantaged groups through targeted subsidised employment opportunities.

Transitioning from a historically metal-mining-based economy, BBSK’s economy has diversified into non-metallic mineral mining, manufacturing (metal products, food and beverage, and machinery), as well as tourism, agriculture, food processing, forestry and wood industry, reflecting national economic transformation. The public and social economy (22.4%) and industry (23.2%) account for nearly half of employment. Promising sectors for diversification such as tourism and the forest and wood industry (4.6%) have the potential to create further employment opportunities, such as tourism and the forest and wood industry (4.6%), have the potential to create further employment opportunities, including for young workers.

BBSK has few medium-sized and large firms, primarily concentrated in industry, transportation and storage, while micro firms dominate the rest of the economy. The region accounts for only 2% of the country’s FDI stock, with limited spillovers to local firms. The R&D capacity is low, limiting innovation and productivity gains. Although unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, is higher than the Slovak average, the labour market is tight, illustrating significant skill mismatches.

Structural weaknesses in governance and finance undermine responses to demographic challenges

BBSK is one of eight self-governing regions established in 2001 as part of the Slovak Republic’s decentralisation reform, which began in 1991 when the constitution introduced “territorial self-administration” and reinstated municipalities as autonomous authorities. Several responsibilities were transferred from the central government to the regional and municipal levels, including in policy areas heavily affected by demographic shifts such as education, social welfare for the elderly and children, regional infrastructure and transport, housing, regional economic development and spatial planning.

Despite these decentralisation and regionalisation reforms, subnational government expenditure responsibilities remain limited. Regional and local governments account for 18.8% of total public expenditure and 8.0% of GDP in 2022 (compared to 34.4% and 17.1% in the EU on average), and almost 40% of public investment in 2022 (vs 57.7% in the EU). Regional and local governments rely heavily on central government transfers (based mainly on personal income tax (PIT) sharing), earmarked grants and EU funds, which represented almost 80% of their revenues in 2022, while own-source taxes remain very limited. Additionally, challenges with harnessing EU funds, due to limited capacity for project preparation and a top-down approach to setting priorities, further strain subnational budgets.

In addition to a low level of fiscal decentralisation, the region struggles with several multi-level governance challenges, such as limited vertical coordination, weak strategic planning and stakeholder engagement. Vertical coordination is institutionally established but in practice not widespread. Some progress has been made recently, for example, through associations of local governments (SK8, ZMOS and UMS) and the recently established Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation (MIRRI); however, there is still room to strengthen this further. Weak multi-level governance mechanism also results from ambiguities in responsibility allocation - especially in shared sectors like education, health, and social protection - which undermine effective policy implementation. Furthermore, regional governance in Slovakia is still evolving, with self-governing regions relatively young and lacking the robust legal, fiscal, and technical capacities needed for leadership on demographic issues. Municipal fragmentation intensifies these challenges. Over 90% of municipalities in BBSK have fewer than 2 000 residents, and 55% have under 500, a number that is likely to increase as the population declines. This limits their capacity to deliver services efficiently, as fixed administrative costs consume the majority of budgets. Smaller municipalities face difficulties even staffing core functions. Despite legal requirements assigning equal responsibilities to all municipalities, the reality is a growing disparity in service quality and financial sustainability, further weakening the capacity of municipalities to address demographic challenges.

In response, inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) has emerged as a key strategy. Joint municipal offices (JMOs) and micro-regions facilitate shared services in areas like building regulation and environmental protection. Yet these arrangements are largely voluntary and underfunded, lacking the permanence or scale to address systemic challenges. Encouragingly, new models such as Shared Services Centres allow municipalities to jointly deliver a broader range of services. Their initial success signals a path forward for overcoming structural inefficiencies.

While all levels of government refer to demographic change in their strategic plans, they lack a comprehensive definition of the challenge and coordinated solutions. The Slovak Republic also lacks a national strategy dedicated to demographic change, nor regional strategies, for example, at the level of BBSK. Furthermore, stakeholder engagement, while functional, could be improved by engaging more with social economy actors and targeting the Marginalised Roma Community (MRC) specifically.

Fiscal pressures are mounting. Demographic decline exacerbates a “scissor effect”: rising per capita costs in education and elderly care coincide with shrinking revenue bases, especially through population-dependent transfers like Personal Income Tax (PIT) redistribution. The PIT, which is the largest source of municipal and regional revenue, is highly sensitive to demographic structure. While the region does not have any taxing power, in small municipalities, own-source revenues are minimal. Property taxes, while technically under local control, are outdated in valuation methods and yield little relative to potential. Similarly, accommodation taxes offer promise for touristic areas but are inconsistently applied, while development fees work best in growing areas. Meanwhile, user charges are constrained by affordability concerns and demographic realities.

Investment planning faces dual pressures: adapting infrastructure for an ageing population while also making the region attractive for younger residents and businesses. Public authorities must simultaneously invest in elderly care, healthcare accessibility, and rationalising underused schools, while also expanding digital infrastructure, improving public transport, and supporting tourism and innovation. Coordination tools like the Integrated Territorial Strategy and the Regional Development Agency “Dobrý kraj” help align stakeholders and support EU fund absorption, but administrative capacity and evaluation mechanisms remain weak.

The Roma population presents unique fiscal and planning challenges. These communities often live in informal settlements with little infrastructure, high unemployment, and low school enrolment. While national strategies target inclusion, funding rarely matches the scope of local needs. Without tailored investment and stronger collaboration with NGOs, the long-term fiscal burden and social exclusion risks will intensify.

Ultimately, BBSK requires deeper fiscal reform, institutional strengthening, and governance innovation to respond to demographic change. Empowering regions, improving municipal cooperation, and ensuring equitable resource distribution are critical to build resilient and inclusive local development systems.

Adapting land use and spatial planning

Promote compact development around key local centres

Local land use plans are optional for municipalities, and currently, 62% have not adopted one. The majority of these municipalities are concentrated in the southern part of the region. Even where land use plans are in place, municipalities often struggle to update and enforce them. In many cases, land use plans rubber-stamp unplanned buildings after their construction. In the context of demographic change, developing and enforcing spatial and local land use plans that incorporate population projections is essential. The dispersed development increases the risk of inefficient public service distribution and higher infrastructure costs.

With the spatial planning reform from 2022, Change 2032, municipalities will be obliged to have a local land use plan by 2032. A local land use plan is a comprehensive framework that guides the spatial development of a municipality, covering urban and landscape design, zoning regulations, infrastructure planning, environmental and cultural protection, as well as risk management and climate adaptation. While this could represent a critical step forward, the financial, technical, and administrative capacities of municipalities remain insufficient to meet this obligation.

At the regional level, the updated Concept of Territorial Development of the Region (KURR) and Land Use Plan of a Large Territorial Unit (UPN VÚC), effective from 2024, identify service centres (population clusters), where public services and transport infrastructure should be concentrated. This approach aims to support more efficient and equitable spatial development, particularly in underserved southern areas such as Lučenec and Rimavská Sobota. In those service centres, new developments may have to comply with a strict zoning law. Some zones impose stringent limitations on building height, permitting only single-family homes or low-rise buildings with a maximum of three floors. Sustainable Urban Development Areas (SUDAs) are developed at the Functional Urban Area (FUA) level to support integrated, place-based investments that enhance the development and resilience of urban areas.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Support the municipalities in the development of land use plans to respond effectively to demographic changes. Localities would benefit from national and regional government support to access the resources needed to develop effective land use plans that incorporate population projections. BBSK could reinforce its assistance to municipalities by providing financial aid, improving access to relevant data, offering targeted training, and encouraging inter-municipal cooperation. This support could be channelled through EU funding instruments, such as Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI). This support could facilitate data accessibility and provide targeted training to enhance the capacity of municipal staff to use these tools for spatial planning and decision-making. To foster intermunicipal planning that supports coherent territorial development and reduces urban planning costs through shared resources and coordinated action, joint land-use plans can be developed in alignment with SUDA documentation.

• Ensure that local land use plans are enforced to maximise the impact of spatial planning to adapt to demographic changes. The Authority for Spatial Planning and Construction could introduce sanctions in the legislation for non-compliance with local land use plans to incentivise their effective enforcement. Municipalities would benefit from support to ensure effective implementation of plans through GIS data analysis, regular inspections and public reporting requirements. To support municipalities, BBSK could leverage EU funds such as the Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI).

• Promote higher-density and flexible development in service centres. The regional spatial and land use plans should provide guidelines for local service centres to allow higher density development, for example, through density bonuses, and promote flexibility in zoning regulations within land use plans.

Expand high-quality affordable housing provision, especially in core urban centres

In BBSK, real property prices have increased by 20% since 2018, compared to just 8% at the national level. This rise has reduced access to affordable housing. Strong income growth has increased demand for high-quality housing, especially in the northern part of the region, which is the most urbanised area and includes the two largest cities, Banská Bystrica and Zvolen. Supply has not kept pace. In BBSK, productivity in the construction of new housing is low. Moreover, a large portion of the housing stock requires better access to infrastructure. For example, a significant number of family houses still lack access to water and sewerage. Amid the ongoing housing crisis and as part of the European Affordable Housing Plan, the European Commission plans to support and enable Member States, on a voluntary basis, to double their planned Cohesion Policy investments in affordable housing over the coming years. New flexible funding modes, including increased co-financing and prefinancing, are introduced to accelerate delivery. A model financial instrument, developed with the European Investment Bank, will help leverage public and private funding for affordable and social housing, targeting vulnerable groups. The Commission will also encourage alignment with the New European Bauhaus initiative, which aims to create environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive built environments and has urged Member States to establish transparent, inclusive allocation frameworks. As housing policy is not a common EU policy, its implementation depends on national decisions and should therefore be carefully designed and effectively implemented in the Slovak Republic.

The building permit approval process in the Slovak Republic took 300 days in 2019, nearly twice the OECD average of 152 days, placing it among the slowest in the OECD. Complex and lengthy building permit procedures may discourage developers from building (affordable) housing. Building permits must be approved by municipalities based on extensive technical documentation, and the process often involves multiple agencies. The new Slovak Construction Act introduces a simplified, two-step building permit process aimed at increasing efficiency and legal clarity.

Refurbishment of vacant buildings and brownfield areas offers an opportunity for town and city centres to develop attractive, affordable housing where it is most needed, while ensuring good connections to jobs and services. Abandoned properties are frequent in the commuting areas between Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, as well as in rural areas. While renovating buildings can be more expensive than new construction in the short term, it supports denser development and can reduce environmental impact and public infrastructure costs over the long term. Therefore, well-designed financial support mechanisms are essential.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Encourage rehabilitation projects for affordable housing for the young population in service centres to promote compact development. Urban regeneration presents a valuable opportunity for urban centres, such as the commuting zone between Banská Bystrica and Zvolen, as well as for smaller municipalities, to provide housing where it is needed most, well connected to jobs and with access to services. Repurposing vacant buildings offers a cost-effective solution to expand affordable housing without contributing to urban sprawl. Municipalities identified as local or regional centres could include priority regeneration zones in the land use plan. The regional government could facilitate municipal access to Cohesion Funds (e.g. ERDF) for renovation projects. European Funds (e.g., JTF and Cohesion funds) could be used to finance urban regeneration, including public spaces that could support the provision of attractive, affordable housing close to urban centres.

• Help municipalities to fund social and affordable housing to overcome capacity issues and increase the municipalities’ attractiveness for the young population. Permission to develop land for housing in areas with strong housing demand in well-connected areas typically generates land value uplifts. Local governments can harness these uplifts by requiring developers to provide a certain amount of social or affordable housing. Municipalities in service centres, such as Zvolen and Banská Bystrica, could expand the use of developer obligations for social housing. The regional government could also help the municipalities identified as service centres to benefit from national programmes, such as subsidies from the Ministry of Transport or favourable long-term loans from the State Housing Development Fund, as well as Cohesion Policy funds (e.g. ERDF) to support the provision of social housing. Building on the European Commission’s mid-term review and the renewed prioritisation of affordable housing at the EU level, BBSK could also help the municipalities identified as service centres to benefit from the Cohesion Policy funds (e.g. ERDF) and the new EIB financial instrument to support them with the construction and renovation of high-quality social housing in high-demand places. The region could facilitate access to funding for areas in need through the pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable and Sustainable Housing. This financial support can be prioritised for housing targeted at young people, particularly near emerging sectors such as tourism and the wood industry. To support housing provision for marginalised populations such as the Roma, localities eligible for the Just Transition Fund, such as Rimavská Sobota and Revúca, can leverage this funding to improve the quality of affordable and social housing, particularly through investments in energy efficiency.

Enhance and accelerate land consolidation to redevelop vacant properties

In BBSK, the average landowner owns a stake in 21.5 plots and each plot has, on average, 9.1 co-owners. Multiple land ownership, even when plots are small, complicates land transactions and hinders investment, contributing to the underuse, poor maintenance and abandonment of properties. In BBSK, 28% of dwellings are not occupied as permanent residences. Although important for the development of tourism, vacant and seasonally used homes also limit the availability of homes for residents.

While the central government has taken measures to mitigate land fragmentation and reduce co-ownership since the Land Consolidation Act in 1991, progress has been slow. The government aims to complete the process within 30 years. Land readjustment, the practice of pooling fragmented land parcels for joint development, can help overcome land fragmentation, where it holds back efforts to repurpose and renovate buildings or (re)develop land. In the Slovak Republic, subnational governments require national government approval to initiate land readjustment projects. However, the capacities at national level are insufficient to approve land readjustment projects, despite growing demand from municipalities and landowners.

Expropriation in the Slovak Republic faces several challenges that hinder its efficiency and effectiveness. The process is often time-consuming due to complex administrative requirements, legal ambiguities, and procedural delays. The lack of a precise legal definition for public interest creates ambiguity in its interpretation. While infrastructure projects such as roads or utilities are generally accepted as serving the public good, broader objectives, such as housing development, are more difficult to justify under existing legal standards, leading to legal disputes and prolonged proceedings. Property owners frequently challenge compensation amounts, arguing that they do not reflect the true market value of the expropriated property, which results also in extended negotiations and legal battles. Simplifying expropriation procedures would accelerate the demolition or renovation of abandoned buildings.

Land banking involves the acquisition of underused or abandoned land for future development or sale. Subnational governments have the right to implement land banking without requiring approval from higher levels of government. However, the absence of a clear legal framework, combined with limited administrative and financial capacity within public institutions and insufficient coordination among relevant authorities, continues to hinder effective implementation.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Streamline land readjustment processes to reduce land ownership fragmentation and redeploy abandoned buildings and land. In areas with high demand, the Authority for Spatial Planning and Construction could facilitate the redevelopment of abandoned buildings and land, including by streamlining the expropriation process while continuing to safeguard the strong position of private property in the constitution. This could involve clearly defining the concept of public interest and establishing a transparent compensation framework, thereby enabling faster approval and implementation of strategic projects such as key public infrastructure or social housing.

• Encourage land banking to consolidate land and redevelop or demolish abandoned buildings. In the case of land consolidation, the Ministry of Agriculture could establish a legal framework that allows municipalities to acquire land at pre-development prices rather than market rates, thereby reducing land costs and regulating coordination among relevant authorities to enhance overall efficiency. The region can use land banking to support infrastructure development identified in SUDA plans, leveraging European funds (e.g. JTF) to assist municipalities in implementing these projects.

• Promote greater zoning flexibility to support the reuse of vacant buildings and brownfields based on local needs. Municipalities with abandoned buildings or brownfields would benefit from greater zoning flexibility, allowing vacant or underused housing stock to be repurposed for commercial, tourism, or community uses or to be demolished, depending on local needs and development potential.

• Introduce fiscal incentives to encourage more efficient use of underutilised properties. The Ministry of Finance could allow municipalities, especially those facing high housing demand, to increase the property tax rate on secondary residences and introduce a tax on vacant properties to encourage their reuse.

Adapting multi-level governance and subnational finance

Improve the decentralisation framework and increase the efficiency of the multi-level governance system

The role of subnational governments in addressing demographic change and delivering public policy should be more clearly recognised. Self-governing regions should be acknowledged as key actors in place-based regional development, while cities can serve as hubs for balanced growth and smaller municipalities benefit from greater cooperation or, where appropriate, consolidation. To strengthen decentralisation, coordination mechanisms should be institutionalised to improve communication, align policies, and reduce duplication.

Some key policy avenues are as follows. Several of these recommendations could be piloted in BBSK to test enhanced governance and fiscal mechanisms and inform a national model for replication.: 

• Clarify responsibilities across levels of government to reduce overlaps or policy fragmentation, especially those which are shared and related to demographic changes. The government could suggest a comprehensive review involving experts and consultations with SK8, ZMOS and UMS.

• Acknowledge the active role that regions can play in policy design and increase the regional government capacity in some areas of responsibilities related to demographic change. BBSK could encourage SK8 to advocate for the creation of a multi-level working group tasked with assessing various decentralisation and regionalisation scenarios, especially those that would enhance the capacity of regional authorities to address demographic challenges.

• Consider asymmetric decentralisation as a way to promote differentiated governance and reduce the administrative burden on small and shrinking municipalities. The central government could consider experimenting with different expenditure responsibilities or revenue-raising powers for municipalities based on their respective financial and administrative capacity and size.

• Promote regional administrative city hubs to enhance efficiency in service delivery and improve attractiveness for the young population. The government could strengthen the role of small and medium-sized cities by establishing a working group with the associations of municipalities to discuss governance challenges - particularly those affecting cooperation at the functional urban area (FUA) level. The Sustainable Urban Development Areas (SUDAs) model, developed in the framework of the “Program Slovensko 2021-2027”, could serve as a foundation for broader collaborative approaches at the scale of functional urban areas in BBSK.

• Institutionalise and strengthen multi-level coordination mechanisms, especially to enhance planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of demographic change policies. Slovak Republic could institutionalise regular platforms for dialogue between the national and subnational levels (regional governments and large cities), such as permanent intergovernmental committees or forums, such as in Poland. Another interesting form are contracts or formal agreements that can help align national objectives with regional/local priorities, clarify roles, and often mobilise co-financing. BBSK could serve as a pilot in this perspective. It could also formalise partnerships agreements and memorandums of cooperation with national ministries and agencies.

• BBSK should strengthen its newly established regional governance tools to further reinforce its role as a regional coordinator and integrator. BBSK region could innovate and pilot concrete actions that could foster stronger vertical and horizontal coordination within the region, especially to address cross-sectoral issues related to demographic changes by leveraging the tools it has already developed (Regional Development Agency “Dobrý kraj”, Regional Support Services, etc) and by reinforcing the newly established Partnership Council for Integrated Territorial Development in the context of the programme “Program Slovensko 2021-2027”.

Plan strategically to better co-ordinate responses to demographic change across levels of government and with civil society

Demographic considerations are increasingly included in planning across all levels in the Slovak Republic, though integration is more consistent at the national and regional levels than at the municipal level. While a unified approach to demographic change is still lacking, current efforts offer a basis for greater coordination. Enhancing stakeholder engagement - especially with civil society and the Marginalised Roma Community could further support the development of coherent, long-term strategies to address population decline.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Develop a dedicated national framework specifically addressing population change and its impacts at regional and local levels to align strategies across levels of government. National and subnational governments could benefit from working together to develop a shared framework for understanding and responding to demographic change and integrating regional and local perspectives and data, as in the Netherlands.

• Support regions, and BBSK in particular, in the development of regional strategies and action plans to respond to demographic change. The national shared framework on demographic change could guide the elaboration of dedicated regional strategies and inform sectoral and cross-sectoral plans, including adaptation and mitigation measures to demographic change tailored to each local context, as seen in Japan or Spain. These regional strategies and action plans could then help prioritise and align investment under EU Cohesion Policy, particularly by guiding the design of Integrated Territorial Strategies (ITS) and Integrated Territorial Investments (ITIs). Such regional and local strategies could then also be used to better allocate EU funds to co-finance development and infrastructure projects (see below) in declining areas

• Continue BBSK regional and local efforts to strengthen civic engagement for demographic resilience, including through the Partnership Council for Integrated territorial Development. BBSK should deepen collaboration with civil society, local businesses, and the social economy to co-create responses to demographic challenges. Initiatives such as the SPACE centres, Omama project, Ideathon, and regional and local Partnership Councils show how inclusive governance can reflect community needs. Building on this, BBSK should identify key stakeholders and use accessible formats - like workshops, town halls, and digital platforms - for continuous, transparent engagement. Strengthening the Partnership Councils as long-term platforms for dialogue will help ensure diverse representation and more effective strategies, especially for ageing populations, youth out-migration, and the Roma community.

Increase service delivery in small, ageing and shrinking municipalities via inter-municipal co-operation

The high level of municipal fragmentation in BBSK means that many municipalities in the region struggle with low fiscal and administrative capacity. Inter-municipal cooperation has been promoted in the Slovak Republic and BBSK, through Joint Municipal Offices (JMO), micro-regions and innovative new initiatives EU territorial instruments, but more efforts can still be done in this area to change the game.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Conduct a mapping and diagnostic of existing inter-municipal cooperation structures in BBSK, identifying their functions, resources, and service needs, as well as gaps or overlaps. The findings could inform governance reforms and serve as a basis for an action plan to strengthen cooperation.

• Incentivise voluntary, institutionalised and sustainable intermunicipal cooperation through financial and non-financial incentives. The central government, but also BBSK on its own budget, could provide fiscal incentives to support inter-municipal cooperation (bonuses, co-financing, subsidies), but also provide more practical incentives like guidance/consulting, technical assistance, training, information sharing and peer-learning for mayors, elected officials and staff. A good first step is the seminars organised by BBSK dedicated to inter-municipal cooperation. Where voluntary collaboration proves insufficient, the government could consider mandating intermunicipal cooperation, especially in the most depopulated areas and for basic services. It could also envisage incentivising municipal mergers of very small municipalities.

• Leverage EU territorial instruments to progress toward institutionalised intermunicipal cooperation BBSK’s use of instruments like LEADER, CLLD, INTERREG, ITIs, and SUDAs has strengthened collaboration among municipalities and with civil society. Initiatives such as Integrated Social and Health Centres and Shared Services Centres further catalyse cooperation. These tools should be reinforced and viewed as building blocks toward more structured, long-term territorial governance, based for example on JMOs.

• Use EU funding conditionalities to promote inter-municipal cooperation. To strengthen inter-municipal cooperation, EU Cohesion Policy could make it a horizontal conditionality for selected funding, using tools like eligibility rules, higher co-financing rates, or bonus points for joint municipal projects. In the future, intermunicipal cooperation (e.g. JMOs) bodies could potentially serve as intermediary bodies for managing EU Cohesion Funds.

Strengthen subnational government finance

Given rising fiscal pressures and demographic challenges, the BBSK region and its municipalities face growing expenditure pressures alongside declining revenues, creating a scissor effect. Expanding own-source revenues could enhance fiscal autonomy and reduce reliance on PIT allocations and intergovernmental transfers. Tailored measures are also needed for municipalities with large and growing Roma populations, which create distinct and often underfunded needs. Central government support is crucial to help regional and local governments boost revenue generation. Most of the recommendations below are addressed to the central government, as subnational governments still have limited room for manoeuvre in this area. However, dialogue could be initiated through their representative associations, and some of the proposed reforms could be piloted in BBSK at the regional or local level.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Revise intergovernmental transfers (PIT allocation and other grants) to reflect demographic realities.

  • Regarding the PIT allocation, the government could explore the way of reducing the over-reliance of the BBSK region and municipalities on the PIT allocation through a stabilisation fund or new revenue sharing fund. In addition, the PIT allocation formula could be revised to account for the higher costs of an ageing population without discouraging the attraction of young talent and families. This might involve for example increasing allocations for residents over 62 or directly compensating age-specific expenditure needs, as in Norway’s “cost-matrix” model. The BBSK region could pilot the new formula at both regional and municipal levels. To better address the needs of the MRC, the government could consider integrate social and poverty-related criteria into the PIT allocation formula (equalisation).

  • Regarding the other grants, formulas could be revised to compensate for population decline (e.g. a higher weight per resident in municipalities with population loss exceeding a threshold), the situation of the MRC (introduction of specific criteria) and guarantee minimum service standards (“minimum base allocation” or “minimum guaranteed transfer”).

  • More generally, the government could introduce incentive-based intergovernmental transfers to encourage municipalities. This system would supplement the average cost-based system by incentivising recipients to encourage subnational governments to improve efficiency and adapt services to changing demographic profiles.

  • Adjustments to transfer allocations (PIT and other grants) for municipalities that host key services for non-resident populations and touristic areas could also be introduced. These municipalities often bear additional costs for services used by non-residents, which are not adequately reflected in current transfer formulas. The government could explore incorporating adjustment factors into formula-based grants to account for centrality charges, touristic populations, and the presence of secondary homes.

• Modernise local taxation to support a shifting population landscape

  • The property tax system could be reformed to increase local government revenues and improve equity. This would involve shifting from an area-based to a value-based model, using regularly updated market values. Implementing such a system requires strong data and technical capacity, which many small municipalities currently lack. To address this, the government could promote inter-municipal cooperation and provide central support. Municipalities should also be encouraged to adopt higher tax rates in high-value areas, particularly for secondary residences and vacant homes. In addition, the introduction of specific taxes on vacant dwellings could be considered alongside the regular property tax.

  • Municipalities could be encouraged to make better use of existing local taxes, such as the accommodation tax in tourism areas. To further strengthen local fiscal capacity, the central government could enable new local taxes - such as environmental levies - and support the application of variable rates on business-related taxes. It could also promote the piloting of innovative local revenue mechanisms in BBSK. At the regional level, reintroducing a green motor vehicle tax or a regional business value tax could help advance both economic and environmental objectives.

• Scale up user charges and fees with equity and sustainability in mind

  • The BBSK region and its municipalities should be encouraged to increase - or introduce, where legally permitted - user charges and fees to strengthen their own-source revenues. This is particularly relevant for services with localised benefits and where pricing can be linked to actual usage. The central government can help BBSK regional and municipalities in this effort by establishing national guidelines for full cost recovery and by co-financing tariff-setting studies and digital billing systems to promote sustainable, affordable, and equitable pricing - especially in low-income areas.

  • In urban municipalities experiencing population growth, particularly where there is pressure to expand housing, transport, and basic infrastructure, the use of development fees should be encouraged as part of long-term urban planning and investment strategies. national guidance or capacity-building support could help smaller or less experienced municipalities effectively design and manage the development fee, aligning it with local development needs while maintaining investor confidence

• Modernise revenue management systems to strengthen local capacity in the face of demographic change.

  • Investments in digital tools, staff training, and shared service models are essential to help the regional governments as well as municipalities adapt - whether they are managing population decline or responding to rapid growth. Inter-municipal cooperation can play a critical role in ensuring that smaller municipalities retain the fiscal and administrative capacity needed to deliver quality services.

  • In BBSK, both regional and local governments could mobilise EU funding - such as from the Programme Slovakia or the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - to support investments and capacity-building efforts in the revenue management system.

Invest more effectively to support regional needs

Demographic shifts in BBSK pose complex investment challenges, combining population decline, ageing, and youth outmigration. Adapting infrastructure for an older, shrinking population must be balanced with investments to retain and attract younger residents. The situation of marginalised Roma communities adds a third, urgent dimension, requiring targeted interventions. Regional and local governments face these pressures with limited fiscal, human, and technical capacity, within a centralised and fragmented governance system that slows the absorption of EU funds. A strategic, inclusive, and coordinated approach to investment is essential, leveraging all EU funds available, including territorialised tools like ITI, JTF and Interreg, and expanding fiscal space for subnational governments.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Mandate that all major investment project proposals include a demographic relevance check - assessing their effect on population retention, service delivery, and local vitality. All projects could include demographic impact assessments to prioritise areas with greatest need or opportunity and encourage multi-sectoral projects (e.g. combining mobility, social services and education).

• Review the priorities of current EU programming instruments in BBSK to better integrate a demographic perspective. Key priorities should include job creation in emerging sectors, requalification opportunities for unemployed workers, and improved access to basic services and housing in shrinking communities. Enhancing mobility and digital connectivity should also be addressed. EU funds should further support Roma inclusion in education, employment, healthcare, basic infrastructure, housing, and community development, in line with national and EU strategies. While EU regulatory rules set boundaries on eligibility and co-financing, there is room for BBSK to experiment within EU programming choices, allocation criteria, and place-based tools to better support areas facing population challenges, including by targeting higher co-financing rates or tailored project selection criteria.

• Improve investment project preparation procedures and capacity to increase the absorption of EU funds. The central government could strengthen project preparation procedures and increase implementation capacity in regional and municipal government to absorb EU funds more quickly. This could be done by increasing capacity at the subnational level and by providing targeted training for subnational employees to improve their investment project preparation skills and by reducing the administrative burden of applications for EU funds.

• Improve the governance of place-based allocation of EU funds to foster place-based investments to enhance regional attractiveness. The 2021–2027 period has expanded BBSK’s and FUAs’ role in using EU funds through tools like Integrated Territorial Investments (ITIs), promoting stronger local partnerships. Building on this, regional governments - particularly BBSK - could play a greater role in shaping and implementing Cohesion Policy in close collaboration with municipalities. The central government could progressively designate self-governing regions as intermediary bodies, allowing better alignment with local needs. BBSK could also help redirect current funds based on mid-term priorities, such as improving housing, and receive support to further develop Integrated Territorial Strategies. For the current period, BBSK region should be encouraged to strengthen its Partnership Council for the selection of projects and make it a formal and permanent advisory platform for dialogue and collaboration among key regional actors. In the next programming period, BBSK could serve as a pilot for regional fund management, following examples like Alsace in France.

• Continue supporting Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) to foster a collaborative approach to regional development and demographic adaptation and mitigation. Expanding the use of ITI can improve subnational public investment in BBSK. In the short term, this requires flexibility on minimum project values and increased administrative capacity through technical assistance. In the long term, a lump-sum allocation to BBSK - aligned with national priorities - and a support system for project documentation could further enhance effectiveness.

• Use other territorialised instruments, like Just Transition Fund and Interreg as tools to support demographic adaptation and mitigation. While not originally designed for demographic policy, the JTF can serve as a transformative tool for BBSK if it focuses investments on inclusive economic diversification, job creation and youth retention, links climate transition with social cohesion, community infrastructure and public service renewal and coordinates with other funds (e.g. ESF+, LEADER, national schemes) to tackle demographic challenges holistically.

• Prioritise maintenance, adaptive reuse, smart downsizing, and soft investment. In response to population decline and to enhance attractiveness, governments should prioritise renovating and repurposing existing infrastructure - such as converting former schools or offices into community facilities - over building new assets. This can be encouraged through capital grant scoring and by using demographic data to guide investment decisions. Greater flexibility in traditional EU Cohesion Funds (e.g. ERDF, Cohesion Fund) is needed to better support integrated projects, as these instruments often exclude maintenance works and soft investments. In contrast, the Just Transition Fund allows both soft and hard measures, offering a more adaptable funding model. These limitations could be addressed in the negotiations for the next programming period.

• Use more broadly blended finance for place-based regional development where relevant. Cohesion funds can have greater impact when combined with private finance or development bank investments, as demonstrated by the city of Banská Bystrica (Sustainable Urban Development framework loan). BBSK has strong potential to lead in this area by coordinating and structuring blended finance solutions that combine EU grants with loans or guarantees - for example, by leveraging the JTF Public Sector Loan Facility, for which several BBSK districts are eligible. BBSK region could support municipalities by aggregating projects, developing pipelines, and providing technical assistance With enhanced governance capacity, BBSK could also act as an intermediary actor, helping to direct funds more effectively toward local needs and positioning itself as a model for innovative Cohesion Policy implementation.

Adapting public service provision and accessibility

Adapt the national regulation governing the public service provision

National regulation could be adapted to support the region’s response to the demographic challenge.

Some key policy avenues are as follows:

• Develop transport on demand to connect physically remote and depopulating places. The region could pilot the use of public transport on demand from the smallest municipalities to the regional centres where public services are located to support the current population and raise attractiveness for young people.

• Encourage the development of telemedicine to increase access in remote and ageing places. The regional government could facilitate the adoption of telemedicine by promoting existing Slovak initiatives such as Telemon that enables remote monitoring of vital signs and assists in managing chronic diseases.

Strengthen public service accessibility and emphasise its importance broadly

The transport infrastructure in BBSK provides limited physical access to opportunities. Residents of Central Slovakia, BBSK’s TL2 region, can reach fewer opportunities than both the Slovak and EU averages within a given distance or travel time by road, rail or air.

The public transport coverage remains uneven in the region, yet improvements are underway. The railway service frequency is limited and although bus services have a wider reach, they are irregular and particularly limited in rural areas. With the support from the Catching-Up Regions initiative by the World Bank and the European Commission, BBSK has taken steps to integrate its public transport system by creating a region-owned company that co-ordinates urban public transport, bus services and rail transport and enhances their efficiency and accessibility.

In BBSK, the share of households with internet access is one of the lowest among EU regions, limiting the opportunities offered by digital service accessibility. In addition, the current digital connectivity speed is below the national average and worsening.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Improve digital access to connect digitally remote and depopulating places. The national government could fill existing digital infrastructure gaps, including in internet connectivity speed to improve attractiveness for both current residents and for young people. BBSK could strengthen the digital skills of its population, including among the elderly, to support digital accessibility to public services.

• Encourage the development of service centres to increase the efficiency of public services in depopulating areas. BBSK should incentivise service centres, as well as the grouping of municipalities to coordinate the provision of services and transport (see also inter-municipal cooperation above). A good example is the Community-Based Social Service Centres (CSSCs) as a tool for multi-level partnerships and integrated services for providing long-term care for the elderly piloted in BBSK, supported by the European Commission.

Improve education system effectiveness and respond to evolving educational needs

Challenges in delivering effective learning partly explain the skill shortages in the region. Limited learning outcomes early on persist into secondary school and lead to high dropout rates in upper secondary education. The region faces teacher shortages, especially in early childhood education (ECE) and vocational education. This trend is expected to become more acute in coming decades as current teachers approach retirement age, The projected decline in the number of students is likely to affect Veľký Krtíš and Žarnovica the most. However, if the current reform to raise ECE attendance is effective, the increase in pre-primary education enrolment could improve education outcomes particularly strongly and partly mitigate the impact of the decline in young children on ECE facility capacity utilisation. It would also boost women’s employment opportunities and pay prospects. Strengthening the alignment between the education system and the region’s labour market needs is essential to respond to skill mismatches and could help reduce drop-out rates.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Expand pre-primary education enrolment and optimise school networks to adapt to the changes in student and teacher population due to demographic changes. Municipalities should expand pre-primary education enrolment, while the national government should keep gradually lowering the age of initial eligibility, as planned. Subnational governments should consider increasing class size in schools at all levels of education where student-per-teacher ratios remain below the regional average to address the teacher shortage and finance the improvement of education provision. Subnational governments should consolidate the school networks in places while keeping accessibility reasonable. They should ensure public transport to and from schools where needed.

• Improve teaching skills to increase the quality of education and increase the attractiveness of the teaching occupation. The regional government should continue to strengthen the teaching skills of secondary school teachers in the region and target primary school teachers too, to improve the career development options of teachers and make the profession more attractive. The regional government should give continuity to the employment of assistant teachers across the levels of education

• Scale up the efforts to adapt education and training systems to the evolving labour market needs. While progress has been made in vocational training programmes within the “Catching-up regions” initiative, efforts should be expanded to other levels of education to address the current and projected labour shortages.

• Ensure effective learning outcomes of the pilot curricula reform to ensure it effectively delivers the desired learning outcomes. The national government should closely monitor the impact of the ongoing pilot curricula reform, including in the schools with the greatest shares of low-income students.

Respond more flexibly to rising healthcare demand

Population ageing and shortages of healthcare professionals will increase pressure on BBSK's healthcare system while health outcomes are below the national and EU average. Health outcomes are particularly poor among the Roma in the southeastern districts. Despite the growing efforts by the regional and local governments, the number of nurses and doctors is lower than the Slovak average, including outpatient care specialists. The higher incidence of diabetes, suicides and abortions in the region underscore the heightened need for enhanced preventive and specialised care in the region, in particular in areas such as endocrinology, and mental and reproductive health. While accessing primary care is within reasonable travel times, hospital accessibility is more limited. In the district of Veľký Krtíš, in the south of the region, the average time taken to reach a hospital is even more than 60 minutes.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Assess hospital needs in low-accessibility areas and consider alternative healthcare solutions to provide healthcare adapted to the demographic situation. It may be useful for the national government to evaluate the need for constructing a general hospital in the Veľký Krtíš district, even though this district is expected to experience the strongest depopulation in the coming decades. Alternative healthcare solutions including telemedicine and the use of existing healthcare facilities with an increased scope of services, could also help address the gaps in the district’s healthcare provision.

• Develop preventive care, especially for marginalised and ageing populations to reduce overall healthcare costs. The national government should invest in preventive care in the region, especially targeting the Roma community. The regional government should consider promoting healthy and active ageing in the region among the region’s population.

Provide placed-based public employment services (PES)

PES support labour market participation and job matching by providing job mediation, professional counselling, training and financial support to job seekers, employees and employers. PES are a national government competency, while regional governments operate their own programs to address specific needs. State PES providers include the Central and Local Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family (Central and Local Labour Offices for short). Their regional counterparts consist of the Regional Career Centres, the SPACE Centres and the Employment Agency. Non-state PES providers include temporary employment agencies.

Although the central government providers of PES in the region recognise demographic change and the resulting labour shortages, they primarily implement centrally designed programmes that can lack alignment with specific regional needs. This poses a challenge for BBSK, in particular in relation to the need to strengthen the integration of Roma into the labour market.

Some key policy avenues are as follows: 

• Consider the development and implementation of specialised programmes targeting BBSK’s long-term and female unemployed. The regional government and Central Labour Office could consider strengthening the capacity and services provided by the Employment Agency. Potential funding sources include the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and Just Transition Fund (JTF). In addition, the regional government might consider optimising its service network, including SPACE centres.

• Empower local labour offices and strengthen multi-level coordination to respond to local specific needs and avoid overlap. The Central Labour Office may consider granting greater discretion to the Local Labour Offices. In addition, better coordination between national (Central and Local Labour Offices) and regional counterparts (Regional Career Centres, SPACE Centres and the Employment Agency) could avoid overlap.

• Use local data more effectively to better tailor interventions. Leveraging local information more effectively could enhance the identification of potential clients and facilitate targeted interventions, improving job matches for both ageing and young people.

• Leverage non-state actors to enhance flexibility and training access for disadvantaged workers. Expanding the role of non-state providers in PES could increase flexibility and ensure training programmes remain aligned with evolving labour market demands for both young and ageing workers. For example, policies like France’s Compte Personnel de Formation (CPF), a universal training fund where every worker accumulates annual training credits, allow individuals to choose from a government-accredited list of programs. This ensures that all workers, regardless of income or employment status, have access to upskilling opportunities. Such a system could help prevent exclusion by giving low-income and disadvantaged workers the financial means to enrol in quality training programs, even if employment services are privately provided.

  • Promote the establishment of social enterprises among small municipalities as a first step to integrate the Roma community into the local labour market. The regional government could provide information and support, including details regarding the benefits, underlying regulations and sharing best practices by successful municipal social enterprises in BBSK and other Slovak regions.

Action plan

This action plan outlines a series of targeted actions linked to the policy recommendations developed for each policy sector in the report. These reflect the levers available to national, regional and local authorities in adapting to demographic change. Each recommendation is broken down into concrete actions, specifying the relevant actors and indicative timelines. The proposed lead actor, typically the institution with legal authority or technical competence, is listed first, followed by key partners involved in the delivery of the actions. Timelines are classified as short-term (1-2 years), medium-term (3-5 years), or long-term (beyond 5 years), which has been determined based on a judgment of the regulatory, financial, and institutional requirements of the action.

Given the breadth and complexity of the proposed actions, it is recommended that the region develop an implementation roadmap. This roadmap must be implemented through cooperation across all levels of government, national, regional, and local, as well as with other stakeholders, including private companies and NGOs. This roadmap should set out a prioritisation matrix based on each action’s expected impact (low, medium, high) and feasibility, including political will, administrative capacity, and financing availability. It should also identify funding sources, such as own-source revenue or EU funds, designate a clear lead institution for each action, and provide a realistic timeline for implementation. Establishing such a roadmap would support effective sequencing, foster alignment across government levels, and enhance transparency and accountability in the delivery of strategies to address demographic challenges. 

 

Recommendation	Action	Actors	Timeline	Priority
Land use and spatial planning
Promote compact development around key local centres	BBSK could reinforce its assistance to municipalities by providing financial aid, improving access to relevant data, offering targeted training, and encouraging inter-municipal cooperation. This support could be channeled through EU funding instruments, such as Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI).	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -BBSK Department of Data Analysis -Municipal planning departments - European Commission	Long-term
	Joint land-use plans can be developed in alignment with SUDA documentation.	-Municipal planning departments	Medium-term
	The Authority for Spatial Planning and Construction could introduce sanctions in the legislation for non-compliance with local land use plans to incentivise their effective enforcement.	-Authority for spatial planning and construction of the Slovak Republic	Long-term
	BBSK could leverage EU funds to support municipalities and ensure effective implementation of plans through GIS data analysis, regular inspections and public reporting requirements.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -BBSK Department of Data Analysis -Municipal planning departments - European Commission	Short-term
	The regional spatial and land use plans should provide guidelines for local service centres to allow higher density development and promote flexibility in zoning regulations within land use plans	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipal planning departments	Medium-term
Expand high-quality affordable housing, especially in core urban centres	Municipalities identified as service centres could include priority regeneration zones in the land use plan to promote compact development. National programmes and European funds could be used to finance urban regeneration, including public spaces to increase attractiveness for the young population.	-Municipal planning departments -BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -European Commission	Short-term	Talent – through better housing
	Municipalities in service centres, such as Zvolen and Banská Bystrica, could expand the use of developer obligations for social housing, especially for the young population.	-Municipal planning departments	Short-term	Talent – through better housing
	BBSK could help the municipalities identified as service centres to benefit from national programmes and Cohesion Policy funds (e.g. ERDF) as well as the new EIB financial instrument to support them with the construction and renovation of high-quality social housing in high-demand places, especially for the young population.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipal planning departments -European Commission	Short-term	Talent – through better housing
	BBSK could facilitate access to funding for areas in need through the pan-European Investment Platform for Affordable and Sustainable Housing to increase the stock of affordable housing, especially for the young population.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipal planning departments -European Commission	Short-term	Talent – through better housing
	To support housing provision for marginalised populations such as the Roma, localities eligible for the Just Transition Fund, such as Rimavská Sobota and Revúca, can leverage this funding to improve the quality of affordable and social housing, particularly through investments in energy efficiency, especially for the young population.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipal planning departments	Short-term	Talent – through better housing
Enhance and accelerate land consolidation	In areas with high demand, the Authority for Spatial Planning and Construction could facilitate the redevelopment of abandoned buildings and land by streamlining the expropriation process. This could involve clearly defining the concept of public interest and establishing a transparent compensation framework.	-Authority for spatial planning and construction of the Slovak Republic	Medium-term
	In the case of land consolidation, the Ministry of Agriculture could establish a legal framework that allows municipalities to acquire land at pre-development prices rather than market rates.	-Ministry of Agriculture	Medium-term
	BBSK can use land banking to support infrastructure development identified in SUDA plans, leveraging ITI or JTF funding to assist municipalities in implementing these projects.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipal planning departments -European Commission	Short-term
	Municipalities with abandoned buildings or brownfields would benefit from greater zoning flexibility.	-Municipal planning departments	Short-term
	The Ministry of Finance could allow municipalities, particularly those experiencing high housing demand, to increase property tax rate on secondary residences and introduce a tax on vacant properties.	-Ministry of finance -Municipal finance departments	Medium-term
Multi-level governance and subnational finance
Improve the decentralisation framework and increase the efficiency of the multi-level governance system	Clarify responsibilities across levels of government to reduce overlaps or policy fragmentation, especially those which are shared and related to demographic changes.	-National government -BBSK -Municipalities - SK8, ZMOs and UMS	Medium-term, Long-term
	Acknowledge the active role that regions can play in policy design and increase the regional government capacity in some areas of responsibilities related to demographic change.	-National government -Ministry of the Interior - BBSK - SK8	Medium-term, Long-term	Talent – general
	Consider asymmetric decentralisation as a way to promote differentiated governance and reduce the administrative burden on small and shrinking municipalities.	-National government Ministry of the Interior -Municipalities	Medium-term
	Promote regional administrative hubs to improve efficiency in service delivery and improve attractiveness for the young population.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipalities - UMS	Medium-term	Talent – through better services
	Institutionalise and strengthen multi-level coordination mechanisms between the central, regional and local levels, especially to enhance planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of demographic change policies.	-National government -BBSK -Municipalities	Short-term Medium-term,	Talent – general
	BBSK should strengthen its newly established regional governance tools to further reinforce its role as a regional coordinator and integrator.	-BBSK	Short-term
	Develop a dedicated national framework specifically addressing population change and its impacts at regional and local levels to align strategies across levels of government..	-MIRRI	Medium-term	Talent – general
Plan strategically to better co-ordinate responses to demographic change across levels of government	Support regions in the development of regional strategies and action plans on demographic change to demographic trends and experiment with conditions for EU funds.	-MIRRI -BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipalities	Medium-term	Talent – general
	Continue BBSK regional and local efforts to strengthen civic engagement for demographic resilience, including through the Partnership Council for Integrated territorial Development.	-BBSK -Municipalities - Civil society	Short-term	Talent – general
	Develop a dedicated national framework specifically addressing population change and its impacts at regional and local levels to align strategies across levels of government.	-National government -BBSK -Municipalities	Short-term	Talent – general
Increase service delivery in small, ageing and shrinking municipalities via inter-municipal co-operation	Conduct a mapping and diagnostic of existing inter-municipal cooperation structures in BBSK.	-BBSK -Municipalities	Short-term
	Incentivise voluntary, institutionalised and sustainable intermunicipal cooperation through financial and non-financial incentives.	-Ministry of Finance -BBSK	Short-term
	Leverage EU territorial instruments to progress toward institutionalised intermunicipal cooperation.	-BBSK -Municipalities	Short-term Medium-term
	Use EU funding and conditionalities to promote inter-municipal cooperation.	-National government	Short and medium term
Strengthen subnational government revenue	Revise intergovernmental transfers (PIT allocation and other grants) to reflect demographic realities.	-Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Interior -Line ministries -SK8, ZMOS and UMS -BBSK region and municipalities (pilots)	Medium-term & long-term	Talent – general
	Modernise local taxation to support a shifting population landscape.	-Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Interior -SK8, ZMOS and UMS -BBSK region and municipalities	Short, Medium-term & long-term
	Scale up user charges and fees with equity and sustainability in mind.	-Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Interior -SK8, ZMOS and UMS -BBSK region and municipalities	Short & Medium-term
	Modernise revenue management systems to strengthen local capacity in the face of demographic change.	-Ministry of Finance & Ministry of Interior - MIRRI -SK8, ZMOS and UMS -BBSK region and municipalities	Short & Medium-term	Talent – general
Invest more effectively to support regional needs	Mandate that all major investment project proposals include a demographic relevance check.	-MIRRI - BBSK - Municipalities	Medium-term Long-term	Talent – general
	Review the priorities of current EU programming instruments in BBSK to better integrate a demographic perspective.	-MIRRI -BBSK -Municipalities	Medium-term Long-term	Talent – general
	Improve investment project preparation procedures and capacity to increase the absorption of EU funds.	-National government - BBSK - Municipalities	Medium-term Long-term
	Improve the governance of place-based allocation of EU funds to foster place-based investments to place-based nature of EU funds to foster place-based investments and enhance regional attractiveness.	-MIRRI -BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -European Commission	Long-term
	Continue supporting the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) in BBSK to foster a collaborative approach to regional development and demographic adaptation and mitigation.	-MIRRI - BBSK - cities	Short-term	Talent – general
	Use other territorialised instruments, like Just Transition Fund and Interreg as tools to support demographic adaptation and mitigation.	- MIRRI - BBSK - JTF districts	Short-term	Talent – general
	Prioritise maintenance, adaptive reuse projects, smart downsizing and soft investment infrastructure.	-National government -BBSK -Municipalities	Short & medium term
	Use more broadly innovative finance for place-based regional development where relevant.	BBSK EIB Municipalities	Short
Service provision and accessibility
Adapt the national regulation governing the public service provision	Develop transport on demand to connect physically remote and depopulating places.	-Ministry of Transport -BBSK Department of Public Transport	Medium-term	Talent – through better services
	Encourage the development of telemedicine to increase access in remote and ageing places.	-Ministry of Health	Medium-term
Strengthen public service accessibility and emphasise its importance broadly	Improve digital access to connect digitally remote and depopulating places.	-MIRRI	Short-term	Talent – through better services
	Encourage the development of multi-service centres to increase the efficiency of public services in depopulating areas.	-BBSK Department of Regional Development and Spatial Planning -Municipalities	Medium-term
Improve education system effectiveness and use of resources	Expand pre-primary education enrolment and optimise school networks to adapt to the changes in student and teacher population due to demographic changes.	-Municipalities -BBSK Department of Education and Education Reform -Ministry of Education	Medium-term	Talent – through better services
	Improve teaching skills to increase the quality of education and increase the attractiveness of the teaching occupation.	-BBSK Department of Education and Education Reform -Municipalities	Medium-term
	Scale up the efforts to adapt education and training systems to the evolving labour market needs.	-BBSK Department of Education and Education Reform -Technical University in BBSK -Municipalities -Ministry of Education	Long-term	Talent – through better services
	Ensure effective learning outcomes of the pilot curricula reform to ensure it effectively delivers the desired learning outcomes.	-Ministry of Education -BBSK Department of Education and Education Reform	Short-term	Talent – through better services
Respond more flexibly to rising healthcare demand	Assess hospital needs in low-accessibility areas and consider alternative healthcare solutions to provide healthcare adapted to the demographic situation.	-Ministry of Health -BBSK Department of health	Medium-term
	Develop preventive care, especially for marginalised and ageing populations to reduce overall healthcare costs.	- Ministry of Health -BBSK Department of health	Short-term
Provide placed-based public employment services (PES)	Develop and implement specialised programmes targeting BBSK’s long-term and female unemployment	-Employment Agency -Central Labour Office -SPACE Centres	Medium-term
	Empower local labour offices and strengthen multi-level coordination to respond to local specific needs and avoid overlap.	-Central Labour Office -Local Labour Offices -Regional Career Centres -SPACE Centres -Employment Agency	Medium-term	Talent – through better services
	Use local data more effectively to better tailor interventions.	-Local Labour Offices -Regional Career Centres -SPACE Centres -Employment Agency	Short-term	Talent – through better services
	Leverage non-state actors to enhance flexibility and training access for disadvantaged workers.	-Central Labour Office -Local Labour Offices -Regional Career Centres -SPACE Centres -Employment Agency	Medium-term	Talent – through better services
	Promote the establishment of social enterprises among small municipalities as a first step to integrate the Roma community into the local labour market	-BBSK region	Short-term	Talent – through better services

References

[1] OECD (2024), OECD Regions, cities and local statistics, http://oe.cd/geostats (accessed on 25 October 2024).

Notes

← 1.  The OECD’s TL3 (TL2) regions broadly correspond to the EU’s NUTS3 (NUTS2) regions, allowing for consistent regional comparisons across both statistical systems.

← 2.  Calculation based on OECD Regions, cities and local statistics, OECD (2024[1]), http://oe.cd/geostats