How should municipalities cooperate with the state when they need stable funding, accessible services and room for their own development? These were among the questions raised on 17 September 2026 at the National Conference of the Association of Local Authorities of the Czech Republic (SMS ČR) in Karlovy Vary. The expert programme at the Hotel Thermal focused on the position of smaller municipalities, public finances, digitalisation and local development priorities.
Representatives of the non-governmental organisation Mayors of Slovakia attended the event together with Jozef Božik, chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of Slovakia (ZMOS). Their joint participation built on the existing partnership with ZMOS and offered an opportunity to exchange experience with Czech municipalities and expert partners.
The Czech president also highlighted the importance of dialogue
An important moment of the conference was a personal meeting with the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel. In his speech, the president also praised the work of mayors and stressed that, instead of forced mergers of municipalities, the state should create the conditions for their natural and voluntary cooperation. This idea also resonates in the wider discussion on partnerships between municipalities.
For the Slovak participants, the meeting mattered above all for the contacts it offered and for comparing approaches to public services and regional development. On the back of the cooperation with ZMOS, room is opening up for expert links between Slovakia, Czechia and Ukraine, for example in education, digitalisation and the preparation of cross-border projects.
Taking part in Karlovy Vary did not mean concluding a new agreement. It was, however, a concrete opportunity to develop relationships from which, with further coordination, joint initiatives of benefit to towns and municipalities may emerge.