A national reform programme is a key development document. It is prepared and submitted once every two years. According to the Finance Ministry, its goal is to set out guidelines for “smart, inclusive and sustainable growth”. It lays out how Slovenia should raise revenue, attract foreign investment, structure taxes, how to spend the money wisely, and how to ensure that pensions are sustainable.

Slovenia’s 2016-2017 national reform programme is still in its draft stage. It has been approved by the Economic-Social Council, but it has two more hurdles to clear: It has yet to be scrutinized by the relevant parliamentary committees and reviewed by the government. It must then be sent to Brussels for scrutiny, the deadline being April 15. The European Commission will review the documents and issue recommendations to each member state.

According to the Institute for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development (UMAR), now is the right time to implement key structural reforms. Does Slovenia’s 2016-2017 national reform programme address this? Economist and professor Matej Lahovnik doesn’t think so. On the contrary, he believes that the government “is afraid” to tackle the most pressing national issues. He told MMC that the most important measures will be passed on to the next government “like a hot potato”.

The only real reform the current government plans to tackle is the reform of the health care system. “That’s a very positive sign,” Lahovnik said. Unfortunately, the document is short on specifics. It only says that the supplementary insurance scheme would be abolished and its funds redirected into the national health purse, as this would “be a fairer way of funding”. Moreover, some expenses currently covered by Slovenia’s Health Insurance Institute (ZZZS) would be paid out of the national budget (especially the education and training of health care professionals). Lahovnik slammed the rest of the wording as being too vague: “Too bad they didn’t lay out the reforms in more concrete terms.”

Lahovnik specifically criticized the lack of a comprehensive pension reform. The government has looked into this as well, and Finance Minister Dušan Mramor said that a pension reform is a must. However, after scrutinizing the draft 2016-2017 national reform programme and after pressure from the Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS), the government came to the conclusion that a pension reform is not yet needed. After all, the current reform was only passed a few years ago, and reports show that it yields good results.

Lahovnik is also critical of the tax-raising measures proposed by the government. A property tax will not come into effect before 2020. Economists generally agree that property taxes have a large redistributive impact and that they are among the “least harmful” taxes. In 2017, the government plans to overhaul Slovenia’s tax system in order to make it more equitable and competitive.

Al. Ma.; translated by D. V.