Slovenia has implemented a broad set of regulatory reforms to support good law-making and reduce administrative burdens for businesses. The current better regulation agenda is a whole-of-government policy for regulatory management and includes guiding documents to help regulators put into practice a better regulation framework.

The OECD Regulatory Policy Review of Slovenia assesses the country’s regulatory management capacity by taking stock of regulatory policies, institutions and tools, describing trends and recent developments, and identifying gaps in relation to good practices. Improving the entire regulatory policy cycle will ensure that regulations are built on a foundation of solid evidence and public participation and designed to improve the security, health and well-being of citizens at a reasonable cost.

Geography, population and living standards

This chapter describes the main governance reforms of Slovenia since its independence in 1991 up until it joined the EU in 2004. It also describes the current economic context of regulatory reform efforts and points to the specific economic challenges that the country faces that hinder investment, economic growth, and well-being. The overall well-being of Slovenian citizens and their perception of government effectiveness are also briefly discussed.

This chapter identifies the drivers of regulatory policy and assesses the communication with stakeholders on strategy and policies. It also looks at the policies, processes and institutions for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of programmes and policies aimed at improving the regulatory environment. It also briefly reviews the role of e‑government in support of regulatory policy and governance.

Regulatory management needs to find its place in a country’s institutional architecture and have support from all the relevant institutions. The institutional framework extends well beyond the executive centre of government, although this is the main starting point. The legislature and the judiciary, regulatory agencies and the sub-national levels of government also play critical roles in the development, implementation and enforcement of policies and regulations. Continuous training and capacity building within government, supported by adequate financial resources, contributes to the effective application of Better Regulation. Beyond the technical need for training in certain processes such as impact assessment or plain drafting, training communicates the message to administrators that this is an important issue, recognised as such by the administrative and political hierarchy. It can be seen as a measure of the political commitment to Better Regulation. It also fosters a sense of ownership for reform initiatives, and enhances co-ordination and regulatory coherence.

Transparency is one of the central pillars of effective regulation, supporting accountability, sustaining confidence in the legal environment, making regulations more secure and accessible, less influenced by special interests, and therefore more open to competition, trade and investment. It involves a range of actions including standardised procedures for making and changing regulations, consultation with stakeholders, effective communication and publication of regulations and plain language drafting, codification, controls on administrative discretion, and effective appeals processes. It can involve a mix of formal and informal processes. Techniques such as common commencement dates can make it easier for business to digest regulatory requirements. The contribution of e‑government to improve transparency, consultation and communication is of growing importance.

This chapter reviews the processes for developing new regulations in Slovenia, with special attention to forward planning and trends; administrative procedures and legal quality; ex ante impact assessment; and considering alternatives to regulation.

This chapter focuses on how the Slovenia government rationalises its existing stock of regulations, including how it undertakes reforms to improve regulation in specific areas or sectors to, for example, reduce administrative burdens and other compliance costs associated with regulation or evaluate the overall effectiveness of a regulation.

This chapter reviews how Slovenia’s regulatory policy encourages ministries to set goals, priorities and indicators when developing or amending regulation. Finally, it makes recommendations for how Slovenia could support the use of priorities and indicators in its regulatory to improve the effectiveness of regulation.

This chapter reviews how Slovenia’s strategy for enforcement and compliance, including the appeals process. Finally, it makes recommendations for how Slovenia could improve its enforcement and compliance regime. Although this area was not the primary focus of the regulatory policy review, this chapter does make some general recommendations for compliance and enforcement in Slovenia. An in-depth review could be done using the OECD Compliance and Enforcement Toolkit, which the OECD is currently developing.