SIGMA Support for Improvement in Governance and Management A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union, principally financed by the EU This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OECD and its Member countries or of the beneficiary countries participating in the SIGMA Programme. CZECH REPUBLIC Policy Options for Central Governments to Promote Equal Access to Better Services at Local Level: Some European Approaches Report prepared for Sigma by Prof. Salvador Parrado Díez 1 UNED, Madrid September 2005 1 The author is grateful for the continuous support and very useful documents provided by Tony Bovaird, Elke Löffler and Peter Humphreys. He would also like to thank Sigma staff for their kind cooperation and comments on this report. Errors and mistakes are entirely those of the author.