Cicero Policy Briefer

Issue 20, January 2008

European Country Profiles: Slovenia

By Chris Jackson

With Slovenia holding the European Council Presidency for the first six months of 2008, I took this opportunity to ask Slovenian Finance Minister Dr Andrej Bajuk a few questions on the challenges ahead both for Slovenia and the EU over the next few months.

Speaking about the opportunity of holding the European Council Presidency, Dr Bajuk calls it “an honour and also a big responsibility” for Slovenia. The position represents an organisational and financial challenge, especially so for a country with a population of just 2 million. Rather than dwelling on the scale of the task, though, Dr Bajuk believes that Slovenia and its people will benefit greatly from the experience. Having spoken to a number of Slovenian friends, Dr Bajuk sums up the mood of the country as it takes on this role:

“It is a symbol of recognition for Slovenia…we will be the first among the new member states to hold the Presidency; therefore our success will also be a symbol of the successful enlargement of the European Union, and the progress that Slovenia has made.”

The Finance Minister was eager to stress that Slovenia does not just want to hold the Presidency, but to make the most of the opportunity by achieving progress wherever possible. Accordingly, he wishes to deal effectively with the Inherited Agenda and aims to avoid overburdening the EU agenda with domestic issues.

After the successful closure of the Lisbon IGC and the signature of the Reform Treaty in Lisbon, the Slovenian Presidency wants to press on with the Lisbon Strategy in the areas of research and innovation, development of a competitive business environment, adaptation of the labour market and demographic changes. They also wish to focus on topical energy issues and climate change.

More specifically, the Slovenian Presidency also wants to see progress with the Solvency II regime so that it “reflects the latest developments in prudential supervision, actuarial science and risk management. The intensive discussion on the proposal will continue during the Slovenian presidency…(and) will try to achieve an agreement in the ECOFIN Council and to some extent also an agreement with the European Parliament.”

With the Commission tabling amendments to the UCITS Directive to deal with specific shortcomings of the investment fund business in the EU in early 2008, Slovenia will also look to develop the “right regulatory framework for all investors”. Financial stability, crisis management and the supervision of the financial system are all issues currently on the table, and Slovenia will look for developments in all three. It seems likely that special attention during the Slovenian presidency will be given to improving the supervisory responsibilities between the home and host country supervisory authorities pertaining to cross-border financial institutions, and with it related burden sharing.

The task of holding the presidency as large for Slovenia as it is for any member state. But from conversing with Dr Bajuk it seems that the opportunity for Slovenia to be able to open its doors to over 30,000 delegates and its windows to all of Europe will make for an immensely proud time for the country. Europe can look forward to a productive six months at a important time for all concerned.

Chris Jackson can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7665 9530 or click here to email.

Back to main policy briefer