CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERACTION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE STATE IN EU MEMBER STATES

The article is devoted to the study of the legal basis of interaction between non-governmental organizations (hereinafter — NGOs) and public authorities in the EU member states. The authors came to the conclusion that it is necessary to borrow the experience of constitutional and legal regulation of the organization of relations between civil society and the state. On this basis, the author's vision of defining these public institutions is proposed. The article provides a general description of the legal models of NGOs. Accordingly, four NGO models have been identified: the corporate model (continental European), the liberal model (Anglo-Saxon model), the social democratic model (Scandinavian) and the Mediterranean model. A generalization has been made about the spread of the corporate model in the EU Member States, which is characterized by close cooperation between public authorities and NGOs. The peculiarities of the constitutional and legal bases of relations between NGOs and the state in different EU countries are established. In the Republic of Poland, the constitutional and legal regulations are designed to ensure strong and effective cooperation between NGOs and the authorities. As for the Slovak Republic, in this country the legal basis guarantees significant autonomy of NGOs. Much attention is paid to the urgent problems of relations between NGOs and the authorities. Such problems include: — imperfection of legal regulation of civil society structures; — incomplete construction of the mechanism of interaction with public authorities; — limited financial resources, etc. The need to codify the regulations governing the activities of NGOs was emphasized. The article emphasizes the significant role of NGOs in the process of public administration in the EU. The existence of an extensive mechanism of NGOs abroad testifies to the success of their practical activities aimed at establishing fruitful cooperation and reducing conflicts between the state and civil society.