Social Policies
#16Key Findings
Showing a mixed record, Slovenia falls into the upper-middle ranks (rank 16) with regard to social policies. Its score on this measure has gained 0.4 points relative to 2014.
The pandemic placed the healthcare system under severe stress, but after an expansion of ICU capacity, the system was able to cope with the surge in admissions. A new long-term care act has been adopted. Childcare and parental-leave provisions are strong, and the employment rate for women is high. A new policy provides free nursery care beginning with the second child.
An ongoing series of reforms is aimed at modernizing the education system, improving digital competences and the integration of migrant children. Overall spending has been increased. The at-risk-of-poverty rate is below the EU’s average. Social benefits have been expanded, and the minimum wage has been increased.
A recent pension reform raised the retirement age and indexed pensions to prices. NGOs complain that the right to asylum is systematically denied. A dispute between the minister of interior and the police services ultimately allowed the minister to replace police leaders that were investigating government figures.
The pandemic placed the healthcare system under severe stress, but after an expansion of ICU capacity, the system was able to cope with the surge in admissions. A new long-term care act has been adopted. Childcare and parental-leave provisions are strong, and the employment rate for women is high. A new policy provides free nursery care beginning with the second child.
An ongoing series of reforms is aimed at modernizing the education system, improving digital competences and the integration of migrant children. Overall spending has been increased. The at-risk-of-poverty rate is below the EU’s average. Social benefits have been expanded, and the minimum wage has been increased.
A recent pension reform raised the retirement age and indexed pensions to prices. NGOs complain that the right to asylum is systematically denied. A dispute between the minister of interior and the police services ultimately allowed the minister to replace police leaders that were investigating government figures.
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To what extent does education policy deliver high-quality, equitable and efficient education and training?
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Education policy fully achieves the criteria.
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Education policy largely achieves the criteria.
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Education policy partially achieves the criteria.
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Education policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
Slovenia has moved relatively rapidly from the socialist curriculum tradition toward a more flexible organization of education. With a high share of the population aged 25 to 64 having completed at least upper secondary education as well as high ranks in international educational achievement tests, the education system fares relatively well by international comparison. The most pressing problems remain the small (but slowly growing) share of pupils enlisted in vocational education, as well as an underfunded tertiary education system with high dropout rates and large fictitious enrollment figures.
Both the Šarec and Janša governments have slightly increased spending on education. While the Šarec government failed to adhere to a five-year old decision of the Constitutional Court on the public funding of accredited private school programs, the Janša government managed to implement the aforementioned decision of the Constitutional Court, providing 100% of the funding for the compulsory program and 85% for the extended program in all private schools. The Janša government also announced several additional concessions for selected higher education areas (e.g., media studies, healthcare, social gerontology and the management of smart cities), bringing more competition to the tertiary education sector, a move that has been harshly criticized by some public academics and universities.
In February 2020, a process of modernizing basic and upper secondary general education, and the kindergarten curriculum was started. In particular, the process aims to improve digital and sustainable development competences in basic and upper secondary general education, as well as to improve the integration of migrant children.
Citations:
OECD 2021: Education at a Glance. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2021_b35a14e5-en
European Commission 2022: Eurydice. Slovenia. National reforms in school education. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/national-reforms-school-education-68_en
Both the Šarec and Janša governments have slightly increased spending on education. While the Šarec government failed to adhere to a five-year old decision of the Constitutional Court on the public funding of accredited private school programs, the Janša government managed to implement the aforementioned decision of the Constitutional Court, providing 100% of the funding for the compulsory program and 85% for the extended program in all private schools. The Janša government also announced several additional concessions for selected higher education areas (e.g., media studies, healthcare, social gerontology and the management of smart cities), bringing more competition to the tertiary education sector, a move that has been harshly criticized by some public academics and universities.
In February 2020, a process of modernizing basic and upper secondary general education, and the kindergarten curriculum was started. In particular, the process aims to improve digital and sustainable development competences in basic and upper secondary general education, as well as to improve the integration of migrant children.
Citations:
OECD 2021: Education at a Glance. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2021_b35a14e5-en
European Commission 2022: Eurydice. Slovenia. National reforms in school education. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/national-reforms-school-education-68_en
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To what extent does social policy prevent exclusion and decoupling from society?
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Policies very effectively enable societal inclusion and ensure equal opportunities.
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For the most part, policies enable societal inclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
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For the most part, policies fail to prevent societal exclusion effectively and ensure equal opportunities.
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Policies exacerbate unequal opportunities and exclusion from society.
Slovenia has a strong tradition of social inclusion. In 2018, the country’s Gini coefficient was the second lowest among EU member states and has remained fairly stable since then. Slovenia’s at-risk-of-poverty rate is below the EU average. In the past, social policy focused on providing benefits to the elderly and to families with children. After the onset of the economic crisis, however, social disparities widened. The Fiscal Balance Act, adopted by the Janša government in May 2012, cut several social-benefit programs and reduced the generosity of social benefits for the unemployed. During the period under review, the Šarec government eliminated the last remaining austerity measures in the area of social security benefits and increased a broad range of social benefits. Subsequently, the Janša government further expanded some social benefits, such as those aimed at assisting large families, and increased the annual allowance for pensioners. In January 2020, the minimum wage was increased to €700 per month, with a further 10% increase proposed by the largest trade union.
Citations:
Alenka Krasovec/Damjan Laijh 2021: Slovenia: Tilting the Balance? In: Verheugen, Günter/Vodicka, Karel/Brusis, Martin (Hrsg.): Demokratie im postkommunistischen EU-Raum. Wiesbaden: Springer, p. 171.
Contryeconomy.com 2022: Slovenia gini index. https://countryeconomy.com/demography/gini-index/slovenia
Citations:
Alenka Krasovec/Damjan Laijh 2021: Slovenia: Tilting the Balance? In: Verheugen, Günter/Vodicka, Karel/Brusis, Martin (Hrsg.): Demokratie im postkommunistischen EU-Raum. Wiesbaden: Springer, p. 171.
Contryeconomy.com 2022: Slovenia gini index. https://countryeconomy.com/demography/gini-index/slovenia
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To what extent do health care policies provide high-quality, inclusive and cost-efficient health care?
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Health care policy achieves the criteria fully.
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Health care policy achieves the criteria largely.
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Health care policy achieves the criteria partly.
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Health care policy does not achieve the criteria at all.
The Slovenian healthcare system is dominated by a compulsory public-insurance scheme. This scheme guarantees universal access to basic health services but does not cover all costs and treatments. In order to close this gap, citizens can take out additional insurance offered by Vzajemna, a mutual health insurance organization established in 1999, or, since 2006, additional insurance offered by two other commercial insurance companies. The quality of services, which are partly delivered by private providers and are organized locally, is relatively good. While total health spending is well above the OECD average. both the compulsory public health insurance scheme and the supplementary health insurance funds have suffered from financial problems for some time, resulting in financial problems among the majority of health providers. Since 2015, several scandals about irregularities and corruption in procurement in hospitals have surfaced. These scandals, combined with the growing lack of general practitioners in primary care, threaten to cripple the entire system.
Healthcare reform has been on the political agenda for some time, and has featured prominently in the coalition agreements of both the Šarec and Janša governments. For both governments, however, progress has been slow. Under the Šarec government, the coalition parties held different views on reforms, which were difficult to reconcile. The outside coalition partner, the Left (Levice), for instance, pressed hard to expand the public health insurance scheme to the detriment of the supplementary health insurance funds. When the coalition parties disagreed, the Left withheld its support for the government, which led to its demise. Under the Janša government, the Long-Term Care Act was finally adopted, after being prepared and discussed for almost two decades. However, the exact budget for long-term care has yet to be decided. In addition, the Janša government presented ambitious plans to tackle the issue of healthcare waiting times, but this has largely been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic put the entire healthcare system under substantial distress, but – after expanding the capacity of ICUs – the system managed to cope with the surge in admissions during the first four waves of the pandemic. Though healthcare spending has increased steadily, reaching $2,283 PPP in 2019, it is still below the EU average.
Citations:
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2021: Slovenia: health system review 2021. Health Systems in Transition, Vol. 23 No. 1https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/slovenia-health-system-review-2021
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2021: Health systems review and policy brief on EU support tools launched in Slovenia. 19 October 2021 News release. https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/news-room/news/item/19-10-2021-health-systems-review-and-policy-brief-on-eu-support-tools-launched-in-slovenia
Healthcare reform has been on the political agenda for some time, and has featured prominently in the coalition agreements of both the Šarec and Janša governments. For both governments, however, progress has been slow. Under the Šarec government, the coalition parties held different views on reforms, which were difficult to reconcile. The outside coalition partner, the Left (Levice), for instance, pressed hard to expand the public health insurance scheme to the detriment of the supplementary health insurance funds. When the coalition parties disagreed, the Left withheld its support for the government, which led to its demise. Under the Janša government, the Long-Term Care Act was finally adopted, after being prepared and discussed for almost two decades. However, the exact budget for long-term care has yet to be decided. In addition, the Janša government presented ambitious plans to tackle the issue of healthcare waiting times, but this has largely been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic put the entire healthcare system under substantial distress, but – after expanding the capacity of ICUs – the system managed to cope with the surge in admissions during the first four waves of the pandemic. Though healthcare spending has increased steadily, reaching $2,283 PPP in 2019, it is still below the EU average.
Citations:
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2021: Slovenia: health system review 2021. Health Systems in Transition, Vol. 23 No. 1https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/slovenia-health-system-review-2021
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies 2021: Health systems review and policy brief on EU support tools launched in Slovenia. 19 October 2021 News release. https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/news-room/news/item/19-10-2021-health-systems-review-and-policy-brief-on-eu-support-tools-launched-in-slovenia
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To what extent do family support policies enable women to combine parenting with participation in the labor market?
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Family support policies effectively enable women to combine parenting with employment.
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Family support policies provide some support for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
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Family support policies provide only few opportunities for women who want to combine parenting and employment.
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Family support policies force most women to opt for either parenting or employment.
The employment rate among women in Slovenia is above the EU average, and the employment rate of mothers with children under six is among the highest in the EU. Reconciling parenting and employment is facilitated by the fact that Slovenia provides childcare facilities that exceed the EU average and meets the Barcelona targets both for children under three years of age and between three and five years of age. Over the past 10 years, the number of children enrolled in nursery schools has almost doubled. In January 2021, the Janša government introduced a new policy that provides families free nursery schooling for the second child, if first child is also enrolled, plus all children in families with three or more children are eligible for free nursery care. While the incidence of part-time work is growing slowly, most women work full time. Parental and Family Benefit Act that came into force in 2014 extended the right to part-time work when having two children from six years of age until the end of first grade of primary school. At 105 working days, the maximum duration of maternity leave is near the European average. In addition, parents can take up to 260 days of parental leave, part of which is paid. The 2014 act also included a gradual reform of the additional, non-transferable paternity leave which was completed in the course of 2017. On the one hand, the overall number of days of paternity leave was reduced from 90 to 30. On the other, the number of days with full salary compensation was doubled from 15 to 30, so as to make taking paternity leave more attractive to men.
Citations:
European Commission (2016): Slovenia: A dynamic family policy to improve work-life balance. Brussels (http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1248&langId=en&intPageId=3656).
Stropnik, N. (2019): Slovenia abandons cuts to family benefits. ESPN, Flash Report 2019/07, Brussels.
Citations:
European Commission (2016): Slovenia: A dynamic family policy to improve work-life balance. Brussels (http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1248&langId=en&intPageId=3656).
Stropnik, N. (2019): Slovenia abandons cuts to family benefits. ESPN, Flash Report 2019/07, Brussels.
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To what extent does pension policy realize goals of poverty prevention, intergenerational equity and fiscal sustainability?
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Pension policy achieves the objectives fully.
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Pension policy achieves the objectives largely.
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Pension policy achieves the objectives partly.
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Pension policy does not achieve the objectives at all.
Slovenia has a traditional pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system with modest pensions, whose intergenerational fairness and financial sustainability in the face of a rapidly aging society has suffered from a low employment rate for the elderly. A substantial pension reform was adopted in December 2012. This instituted a gradual increase in the full-retirement age to 65 for men and woman, or 60 for workers with at least 40 years of pensionable service. In addition, it introduced incentives for people to continue working after qualifying for official retirement and implemented changes to the pension formula that have slowed pension growth. The Cerar government emphasized the need for further change and eventually agreed with the social partners upon the broad outline of a pension reform to be adopted by 2020 that includes a 70% net replacement rate, raising the actual retirement age and an indexation rule that links the growth of pensions to wage growth and changes in consumer prices. The Šarec government has prepared amendments to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act that have aimed at improving pension adequacy and at fostering the employment of pensioners, but have raised concerns about the financial sustainability of the pension scheme. Proposed by the Janša government, the National Assembly adopted minor changes to the Pension and Disability Insurance Act in September 2020. However, further changes, which would enable employers to dismiss employees who have met the conditions for retirement, were met with resistance by trade unions and subsequently blocked by the Constitutional Court. The Janša government adopted several additional financial assistance packages for pensioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citations:
European Commission (2020): Country Report Slovenia 2020. SWD(2020) 523 final. Brussels, 18-20 (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/2020-european-semester-country-repor t-slovenia-en.pdf).
Macjen, B. (2019): Slovenia Plans to Increase Pension Adequacy. ESPN, Flash Report 2019/43, Brussels.
Citations:
European Commission (2020): Country Report Slovenia 2020. SWD(2020) 523 final. Brussels, 18-20 (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/2020-european-semester-country-repor t-slovenia-en.pdf).
Macjen, B. (2019): Slovenia Plans to Increase Pension Adequacy. ESPN, Flash Report 2019/43, Brussels.
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How effectively do policies support the integration of migrants into society?
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Cultural, education and social policies effectively support the integration of migrants into society.
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Cultural, education and social policies seek to integrate migrants into society, but have failed to do so effectively.
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Cultural, education and social policies do not focus on integrating migrants into society.
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Cultural, education and social policies segregate migrant communities from the majority society.
Successive governments, including the Šarec and Janša governments during the period under review, have done little to foster the integration of migrants into society by opening up health services and schools, offering anti-discrimination support or encouraging political participation. In June 2015, however, the National Assembly adopted new legislation on foreign employment that improved protections for foreign workers employed in Slovenia, and as of 1 September 2015, foreign workers receive a unified work and residency permit. While the number of active work permits for foreigners dropped from 85,000 in 2008 to a mere 16,993 in 2016 as a result of the economic crisis, it has been on the rise since 2017 and reached 44,967 in first half of 2021. At the same time, the period under review saw an increase in the number of asylum-seekers on their way to neighboring Italy and Austria. The government has responded by erecting an additional fence along the southern border, which is guarded by a higher number of policemen and (assisting) army personnel. In this context, NGOs complain that the right to asylum is systematically denied. Since 2018, more than 28 000 people have been expelled, mostly to Croatia where they face being pushed back to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, they complain about the situation of the Roma community living in settlements with no access to water and sometimes no electricity.
Citations:
ZRSZ. 2021. Zaposlovanje tujcev (Employment of foreign workers) (https://www.ess.gov.si/trg_dela/trg_dela_v_stevilkah/zaposlovanje_tujcev).
European Parliament/Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs 2021: Mission Report Slovenia.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/libe-democracy-rule-of-law-and-fundament/product-details/20190103CDT02662#20190103CDT02662-section-2
Citations:
ZRSZ. 2021. Zaposlovanje tujcev (Employment of foreign workers) (https://www.ess.gov.si/trg_dela/trg_dela_v_stevilkah/zaposlovanje_tujcev).
European Parliament/Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs 2021: Mission Report Slovenia.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/libe-democracy-rule-of-law-and-fundament/product-details/20190103CDT02662#20190103CDT02662-section-2
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How effectively does internal security policy protect citizens against security risks?
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Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks very effectively.
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Internal security policy protects citizens against security risks more or less effectively.
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Internal security policy does not effectively protect citizens against security risks.
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Internal security policy exacerbates the security risks.
Actual and perceived security risks in Slovenia are very low. Slovenia’s accession to the Schengen group in December 2007 has resulted in a substantial professionalization of the Slovenian police force and border control. A six-month police strike, which ended in June 2016, brought substantial increases in wages as a well as a commitment by the government to increase future spending on basic police equipment, and both the Šarec and Janša governments have lived up to this commitment in the period under review, as police received new equipment, such as radars and vehicles, to replace older models. While public trust in the police is 13 points below the EU average, it improved by seven points in last Eurobarometer measurement and is higher than public trust in political institutions. According to latest Landgeist research, Slovenia ranked as the safest country in Europe.
Minister of Interior Aleš Hojs and the police president resigned in June 2020, claiming that police investigations against the minister of economy, who was suspected of abusing his office when interfering in the procurement of ventilation equipment during the pandemic, were guided by political motives. Hojs claimed that parts of the police were controlled by the former governing party and the Communist-era intelligence service. Since his resignation was rejected by the prime minister, Hojs stayed in office and initiated a legislative amendment that enabled him to replace the police leadership.
Critics argued that his interventions were aimed at creating a politically loyal police force.
Citations:
European Commission (2021): Standard Eurobarometer 95. Brussels (https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2532_95_3_95_eng?locale=en).
Landgeist (2021): How safe do people feel to Walk Alone at Night in Europe. (https://landgeist.com/2021/11/26/how-safe-do-people-feel-to-walk-alone-at-night-in-europe/).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/upheaval-in-slovenias-police-force-as-new-legislation-kicks-in/
https://sloveniatimes.com/hojs-dismisses-allegations-of-politicisation-of-police/
https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/6524-interior-minister-police-commissioner-resign-move-linked-to-procurement-scandal
Minister of Interior Aleš Hojs and the police president resigned in June 2020, claiming that police investigations against the minister of economy, who was suspected of abusing his office when interfering in the procurement of ventilation equipment during the pandemic, were guided by political motives. Hojs claimed that parts of the police were controlled by the former governing party and the Communist-era intelligence service. Since his resignation was rejected by the prime minister, Hojs stayed in office and initiated a legislative amendment that enabled him to replace the police leadership.
Critics argued that his interventions were aimed at creating a politically loyal police force.
Citations:
European Commission (2021): Standard Eurobarometer 95. Brussels (https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2532_95_3_95_eng?locale=en).
Landgeist (2021): How safe do people feel to Walk Alone at Night in Europe. (https://landgeist.com/2021/11/26/how-safe-do-people-feel-to-walk-alone-at-night-in-europe/).
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/upheaval-in-slovenias-police-force-as-new-legislation-kicks-in/
https://sloveniatimes.com/hojs-dismisses-allegations-of-politicisation-of-police/
https://www.total-slovenia-news.com/politics/6524-interior-minister-police-commissioner-resign-move-linked-to-procurement-scandal
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To what extent does the government demonstrate an active and coherent commitment to promoting equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries?
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The government actively and coherently engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. It frequently demonstrates initiative and responsibility, and acts as an agenda-setter.
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The government actively engages in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. However, some of its measures or policies lack coherence.
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The government shows limited engagement in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries. Many of its measures or policies lack coherence.
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The government does not contribute (and often undermines) efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in low- and middle-income countries.
With EU accession in 2004, Slovenia’s status changed from donor to recipient of official development assistance. However, Slovenia has not been very active in international efforts to promote equal socioeconomic opportunities in developing countries. The few initiatives that exist are mostly focused on the former Yugoslavia, although the Janša government has placed a little more emphasis on this policy compared to previous governments. The prevailing attitude is that Slovenia has its own measure of socioeconomic problems to tackle and that potential Slovenian international influence is negligible. Still, Slovenia’s official development assistance comes close to the EU target, with Slovenia ranking among the highest in group of former socialist countries, having made substantial gains in recent years.