THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

German

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

Government House
Gregorciceva 20
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

Tel. + 386 61 178 10 00
Fax + 386 61 178 16 07

Under the new state’s authority is based on the principle of the division of power into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with a parliamentary system of government.

Power is held by the people and they exercise this power directly through democratic elections, referendums, and popular initiatives. The highest legislative authority is the National Assembly (90 deputies) which has exclusive jurisdiction over the passing of laws.

Government

Executive power in Slovenia is exercised by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and its ministries. The municipalities and wider self-governing local government bodies undertake individual tasks falling within the state’s jurisdiction only when they agree to do so and when their responsibilities are legally defined.

The Prime Minister is the head of the government. The President of the Republic recommends a prime ministerial candidate to Parliament after consulting with the leaders of the political parties.

The Prime Minister’s term ceases when a new Parliament is formed following parliamentary elections. The Prime Minister’s term can also be terminated if Parliament passes a vote of no-confidence in the government, or if the Constitutional Court dismisses him on grounds of violating the Constitution or the law.

The Prime Minister leads and directs the work of the government, ensures unity in the political and administrative orientation of the government, co-ordinates the work of ministers, represents the government, and calls and chairs government meetings.

The Prime Minister proposes the appointment or dismissal of ministers to Parliament. He can also demand a vote of confidence in the government when the issue of confidence is linked to whether a law or some other decision will be adopted by Parliament. The Prime Minister possesses the general right to represent the government in Parliament and its working bodies.

The Prime Minister can give ministers mandatory directives related to tasks arising from government policy.

The Office of the Prime Minister is headed by the Secretary-General of the Government. The Secretary-General answers to the government and is appointed or dismissed on the Prime Minister’s recommendation.

Central Policy-making and Co-ordinating Bodies

The government is the central policy-making body in the Republic of Slovenia. The government includes the Vice-Prime Minister (who is also the Minister Without Portfolio in charge of coordination between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Defence) and sixteen cabinet ministers who are each responsible for a ministry as determined by law. Currently, there are three additional ministers without portfolio: one responsible for European affairs, one for local self-government, and the last for co-ordination of social security.

The government proposes laws, other regulations, general acts, and state policy for individual social and economic fields to Parliament and directs and co-ordinates the implementation of these measures.

The government usually meets once a week, but more frequently if required. Government sessions are closed to the public and are attended by the Prime Minister, the cabinet ministers, the Secretary-General, the Director of the Government Office for Legislation, the Director of the Government Public Relations and Media Office, and other invited persons. Voting is the exclusive right of the Prime Minister and the cabinet ministers.

The Prime Minister chairs the government meetings. If the Prime Minister cannot attend a government session due to an official trip, sickness, or some other justifiable reason, the minister with the function of Deputy Prime Minister replaces the Prime Minister and chairs the session.

The government adopts decisions by a majority vote of all its members, not just of the members present. A majority of its members must therefore be present for a decision to be adopted. The government can also make decisions through correspondence meetings. Government decisions in the form of a regulation or a general legal act are signed by the Prime Minister and published in the Official Gazette. Other decisions are signed by the Secretary-General.

The government conducts the business of administering the state through its ministers. The government oversees the work of ministers, gives them political guidelines for executing policies, laws, other regulations, and general acts, and ensures that ministers co-ordinate the execution of their functions. The government can stop a minister implementing regulations if it determines that such implementation violates the Constitution, the law, or the by-laws of Parliament or the government.

Draft laws prepared by individual ministries must be discussed and approved by the government before being submitted to Parliament. Ministries cannot independently propose legal acts to Parliament.

Consultative and Advisory Bodies

Consultative bodies can be formed by the government and by individual ministers. The composition of such bodies depends on the particular tasks they are to perform. Some specialised consultative bodies are established by law. Others are mainly established by government decision with the agreement of other institutions.

Members of consultative bodies report on their work and are responsible to the body which appointed them. Their term of office is usually not limited, and the composition of these bodies can be changed if necessary. Individual ministers must, within their jurisdiction, co-operate in the work of consultative bodies. Individual ministers are not responsible to these bodies.

Financial Resources Management

The Ministry of Finance prepares a draft national budget based on the recommendations of the ministers and other budget users (other state bodies, public institutions, and public enterprises authorised by law). The national budget consists of a general section comprising a balance sheet of revenues and expenditure and the financial accounts, and a special section showing expenditure according to individual users together with more detailed, specific purposes. The fiscal year is the calendar year.

The government must approve and submit a draft national budget to Parliament at least three months before the start of the fiscal year. At this time, the government also submits a comprehensive report on its work during the previous year and a budget memorandum. The budget memorandum presents the basic aims of the government’s economic, social, and budgetary policies; the general framework of all public finance for the fiscal year; and the general aims of its public finance policy for the following year.

If the national budget is not adopted by the start of the fiscal year, the financing of public expenditure continues temporarily according to the previous year’s national budget.

The national budget is implemented according to monthly plans determined by the Ministry of Finance on the basis of monthly financial plans submitted by the budget users. Budget funds may only be used for the purposes determined in the national budget. During the year, the government may propose changes to the national budget, which must then be adopted by the Parliament.

No later than five months after the start of the new fiscal year, the government must submit to Parliament a draft final account of how the government and other budget users have implemented the previous year’s national budget.

Line Ministries

The ministries and the administrative bodies and organisations under their jurisdiction perform administrative tasks directly.

Each minister is responsible for implementing the decisions of the government and for representing the position of the government. The minister heads and represents the ministry, gives political directives for the work of the ministry and agencies within its structure, and supervises such work. The minister issues regulations and other acts concerning the competencies of the ministry and the agencies within its jurisdiction. Ministers are responsible for their own decisions in managing the ministries as well as for the failure to implement any measures for which their ministries are responsible.

The ministers currently forming the government come from the coalition of parties which united to form the government after parliamentary elections in November 1996: LDS, SLS, and DESUS (Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia).

The ministries, administrative agencies, and organisations in their structure perform administrative and expert tasks in their areas of work, manage affairs related to international co-operation that fall within their scope of work, carry out tasks related to the processing of information, keep records, and perform other tasks defined by the law and other regulations.

In their specific fields of work, the ministries grant concessions and supervise the work of public institutions and public services. The ministries enter, maintain, and exchange data from the records within their jurisdictions; link such data with shared databases and with the national program of statistical research; and perform analytical functions.

Other Agencies

Certain tasks are performed directly for the government by the Security and Intelligence Service, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, and the Government Office for Legislation. The heads of these agencies answer directly to the Prime Minister, not to the Secretary-General of the Government, who heads other government agencies.

In addition, special units have been established in various fields as independent legal entities. Their tasks, rights, duties, and responsibilities are determined by law. Such entities are not responsible to the government but rather directly to Parliament. These entities are formed as funds or agencies.

Other units have been created to undertake specialised and development tasks. They have no administrative jurisdiction and their legal status varies. The majority are independent legal entities financed in part by the national budget and in part by revenue generated from the sale of their services, the investment of capital, and other ways.

The top priorities of the Slovenian government are:

In foreign policy:

To prepare the general policy framework and to implement activities geared toward Slovenia’s entry into the European Union as a full member;
To prepare the conditions in the areas of legis-lation and defence for Slovenia’s entry into NATO;
To resolve open questions with Croatia (the border, property rights, the nuclear power plant at Krsko, the Zagreb branch of Ljubljanska banka, etc.) and to co-ordinate efforts so that any agreements achieved are ratified by Parliament;
To regulate the status of Slovene minority populations in neighbouring countries and the status of migrant workers and emigrants.

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Graph of parliamentary seating according to party membership

The Law on the Government of the Republic of Slovenia defines the government’s functions, its organisation, and its relationship with Parliament and government agencies. The Law on Public Administration determines the fundamental organisation of public administration, the relationship between ministries, and the conduct of inspection and supervision. The Law on Local Self-Government, together with the previously mentioned laws, forms the framework for the new system of local self-government and the reorganisation of public administration. The Law on the Organisation and Functioning of Ministries has also been adopted and defines the organisation and fields of activity of individual ministries. The two laws defining the status of public administration employees are the Law on Employees in Public Administration which defines the fields of activity and the wage structure and the Law on Wages in Public Institutions, Government Agencies, and Local Government mines the initial value of a work position.

In economic policy:

To provide long-term stable growth of the gross domestic product coupled with higher rates of savings and investment, a further reduction in inflation, improving social security and the quality of life, further improving the application of the rule of law, and reducing the rate of unemployment;
To ensure a higher level of competitiveness in the economy with measures geared toward a more rational economy and a trend toward lowering public sector costs as well as costs to individual economic entities;
With the aim of attaining a more efficient restructuring of the economy and promoting development and marketable, and competitive programs, to redefine the role of the funds of the Republic of Slovenia and to increase the capital of the Slovenian Export Corporation, the RS Development Fund, and, over a longer period, the Regional Development Fund;
To develop and promote the services sector, small manufacturing, and tourism, as these activities are expected to increase employment and contribute to more balanced regional development; these branches of the economy are gradually expected to achieve annual growth rates of at least eight percent;
To provide government incentives to businesses which provide increased employment simultaneously with increased productivity and an active employment policy.

In public finance policy:

To maintain an economic policy containing the principles of balanced expenditure for all public sector accounts, taking into account the principle of an integral budget;
To accelerate and complete the tax reform process so as to:

Increase the proportion of indirect taxes in the sources of national budget revenue;

Increase tax incentives for investment in productive and ecological projects, science, education, culture, and sports (donations) and the gradual abolition of tax relief on consumption;
Increase the trend toward long-term savings by both households and companies;
Expand the tax base for income tax and profit tax on legal entities and to encompass those sources still evading taxation;
Significantly increase the tax-exempt segment of income when calculating the income tax base and slowly expand the spread of income tax to income thus far excluded so that the financial effect on the national budget is neutral;
Introduce value-added tax and the new proposed levy system as early as possible-laws here were proposed in January 1996 (as to value-added tax, to include a lower level of tax in addition to the general level permitted by European Union directives);
Include financial services and income from gambling in taxable income, as these have been excluded from taxation in the proposed law on value-added tax.

In agriculture, forestry, and foodstuffs:

To provide adequate support from the budget to create the conditions for the restructuring of Slovene agriculture in preparation for Slovenia’s accession into the European Union;
To prepare the necessary protective legislation for agriculture and forestry and to provide the appropriate parity income to above-average producers;
To conclude favourable agreements with members of CEFTA to protect Slovene agriculture;
To obtain all-party support for the restructuring of Slovene agricultural co-operatives and the food processing industry in preparation for Slovenia’s accession to the European Union;
To create more rapid structural change in agriculture through the KZGRS Fund (Agricultural Land and Forest Fund of RS), further improving the ownership and farm size structure of land and forests.

In labour, family, and social affairs:

To manage the gradual implementation of pension reform in co-operation with the social partners and pensions institutions to provide a uniform, long-term, stable, fair, and transparent system to protect the population from an excessive level of risk while simultaneously facilitating the disburdening of the economy and a more equal distribution of contributions;
To supplement the existing social security sys- tem to increase the efficiency of social assistance and to be more active in reducing social differences within the population through increased attention to those categories most in need;
To promote employment growth in the economy and in demographically endangered regions to reduce unemployment, devoting particular attention to resolving the problem of first-employment seekers and the older unemployed;
To conduct a policy of social partnership without administrative limits on wages. Incomes policy will mainly provide the following:

A global increase in gross wages depending on the increase in labour productivity;
The provision of social security within the scope of the minimum gross wage;
Above-average growth in the minimum wage;
Negotiations on wage policy between the partners to the social agreement;
A stable level of wages in the public sector, without a real increase in the total wage bill;
Increased transparency of wage scales in the public sector (moving to an equal base for calculating wage scales), increased options for variable incentive bonuses, and the prevention of increases in wage parity between individual branches of the public sector;
Analysis of the possibility of adjusting wages to the exchange rates of Slovenia’s most important trading partners;
To initiate a project that in the long run will ensure the transparency and comparability of wages policy across all sectors.

In environmental matters:

To harmonise existing environmental legislation with the legislation of the European Union;
To adopt additional legislation relating to permanent rights to natural resources.