REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL MEASURES IN THE FIELD OF “RED-TAPE” (REDUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS) AND BETTER REGULATION
from 1997 on
Year of adoption / Measure (adoption of law or its significant change, establishment of key institution/authority or its significant change, adoption of key strategy papers,…)1997 / Public Administration Reform Strategy
Pursuing the aim of liberalising the economy and reforming the state to make its work transparent and free of unnecessary administrative barriers, so that services will be accessible and administration effective, with cooperation with non-governmental organisations in managing public services being the rule and not the exception.
2001 / Establishment of the Government Committee for Administrative Simplification
Members of the committee are the representatives of different ministries. Main tasks of the committee are coordination, guidance and to initiate measures of simplification on a horizontal level.
2001 / Action Plan of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia of the elimination of administrative burdens
Plan included 27 actions in the various fields: starting up a business and SME's legislation, environment, employment, administrative procedures, consumer protection, e-access to the legislation.
2001 / Strategy of E-Commerce in Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (2001 – 2004)
Strategy is a document, which serves as a foundation for all efforts, projects, activities, and tasks for the transition of public administration into an information society by the end of 2004.
2001 / State Portal e-Uprava
The e-Government portal e-Uprava was launched in March 2001, re-launched in December 2003 and modernised in May 2006. The enhanced portal supports Government to Citizen (G2C), Government to Business (G2B) and Government to Government (G2G) interactions and offers various services to citizens, legal persons and public employees.
The portal provides access to the Electronic Administrative Affairs application (EAA or Elektronske upravne zadeve - EUZ), which supports the full electronic handling of administrative forms registered in a centrally maintained registry of procedures. The application can be used by all residents equipped with qualified digital certificates valid in Slovenia.
2003 / Slovene Public Sector Further Development Strategy (2003 - 2005)
The strategy recognises the importance of modernising the legislation, reinforcing mechanisms of planning and integration of policies influencing different development aspects with the intention of efficiently implementing policies taking into account (in)direct impacts on the environments and be cautious with imposing any administrative requirements.
2003 / Access to Public Information Act
The aim of this Act is to ensure that the work of the bodies is public and open, and to enable natural and legal entities to exercise their right to acquire information held by public authorities
2004 / Action Plan of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia of the elimination of administrative burdens (2004)
Action Plan introduces three main actions in order to improve the functioning of public administration: more efficient procedures, variety of possible solutions (e-government, abolishment of local jurisdiction), and transparency of operations.
2004 / Ministry of Public Administration
The Ministry of Public Administration performs tasks in the following fields: management of the public administration and personnel, salary system in the public sector, e-government and administrative processes, investments and real estate and co-ordination and guidance of administrative units. The main objectives are orientation of the public administration towards users, an efficient civil servant system and an equitable salary system, a high-quality and efficient functioning of the public administration and openness and transparency of the functioning of the entire public administration.
2005 / Council for an Economy-Friendly Administration
Council has the function of a kind of ‘anti-bureaucratic filter’, whose main aim is to reduce administrative obstacles in the setting-up and operation of companies, since such obstacles complicate procedures and create additional costs for businesses.
2005 / Slovenia’s Development Strategy
As a part of the Third priority (Efficient and less costly state) there are explicitly enumerated the following steps: the launch of the regulatory impact assessment system to screen regulations for their impacts on the competitiveness and economic activity and take measures to reduce the burdens; setting up a consultation methodology for the public to participate in the preparation of regulations.
2005 / Reform Programme for achieving the Lisbon Strategy Goals (2005 – 2008)
The programme encompasses number of measures one of priority being establishing a business friendly environment by reducing administrative burdens already existing regulations and preventing imposing any new one.
2005 / The Framework of Economic and Social Reforms for increasing welfare in Slovenia
The text consists of 67 measures presented accordingly to areas with a first category stressing the time frame: measures that can be introduced immediately and those that need a detail preparation and coordination.
2005 / Methodology for fulfilling and monitoring the Declaration on the elimination of administrative barriers and cooperation of the interested public
On the basis of the methodology and the statement the Reduction of Administrative Burdens Sector examines secondary or subordinate legislation to prevent new administrative burdens and to include adequate consultation with interested parties.
2005 / Decree on Administrative Operations
Decree merged a number of different degrees and thus simplified operations, introduced mechanisms of customer-friendly administration (ex. the duty of Public authority to acquire information from public records) and abolished local jurisdiction for numerous actions.
2005 / Setting up a special e-mail address:
Since 2005, we have been collecting useful and innovative suggestions for the simplification and improvement of regulation at a special e-mail address from citizens, businesses and their representative chambers, as well as from managers and other public administration officials.
2006 / Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia (Article 8)
The amendments to the Article 8 are stipulating more transparent procedure of preparing regulations by closer monitoring of consultation with interested public and use of impact assessment tools to assess the economic, environmental, social impacts and impacts on the administrative burden.
2006 / Establishment of a Unit for Administrative Procedures and Reduction of Administrative Burdens
The unit has the following tasks:
- to implement the General Administrative Procedure Act and the Decree on administrative operations;
- to co-operate with non-governmental organisations;
- to implement the Act on access to information of public character and relevant implementing regulations;
- to monitor the correct implementation of the fulfilling of the Methodology for fulfilling and monitoring the Declaration on the elimination of administrative barriers and cooperation of the interested public.
2006 / Programme for the reduction of administrative burdens (2006)
Ministry of Public Administration prepared the programme in cooperation with different stake holders. It consists of 34 reduction measures and was adopted by the Slovene Government.
2007 / Development Strategy for the Information Society in the Republic of Slovenia – si2010
The principal aim of the strategy is to encourage further development of information society, which will promote innovation and competitiveness of the Slovenian economy and society in general, increase the number of working posts with high added value, boosted the welfare and equable regional development.
2007 / Programme for the reduction of administrative burdens (2007)
Ministry of Public Administration prepared the programme in cooperation with different stakeholders. It consists of 30 reduction measures and was adopted by the Slovene Government.
2007 / Establishment of the Permanent inter-ministerial working group for better regulation and reduction of administrative burdens
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia established this group in April 2007. It consists of members from all ministries and some governmental offices. Its main role is to introduce better regulation concepts such as simplification and accessibility of legislation, impact assessment, reduction of administrative burdens and consultation to public administration. When working on special projects this group is divided into different ad hoc working groups.
2008 / Programme for the reduction of administrative burdens for 2008 and 2009
Ministry of Public Administration prepared the programme in cooperation with different stake holders. The Programme has three parts: a new package of 44 measures for elimination of administrative barriers, a programme for implementation of measures no. 28/07 – reduction of obligations in the area of statistical data collection and first programme to reduce administrative burdens by 25% in the period until 2010. It was adopted by the Slovene Government.
2008 / Extended State Portal for businesses (e-VEM)
In comparison with the previous version of the portal which enabled the registration and operation of a sole trader only, the extended State portal for companies provides the electronic support for the registration of a company. The project also supports an online establishment of temporary bank account for pay in capital. Companies can perform through the portal 1.6 mio procedures per year. All procedures on the portal are free of charge. If companies need additional information, they can visit ‘One-stop-shop’ entry points or notaries who can perform the necessary procedures for companies through the ‘One-stop-shop’ portal. The system requires the use of qualified digital certificates. The system itself is implemented in order to satisfy the requirements of the Directive on Services in the Internal Market.
2008 / Guidelines for better regulation with minimal recommendations for public consultation and impact assessment
Guidelines in detail presented and guided the proposer when preparing a new regulation. The guidelines solutions will be now incorporated in existing rules and procedures when adopting legislations and policies.
2008 / Manual for planning, managing and evaluating of public participation processes
Manual in detail explains different possibilities of public participation in regulatory process.
2009 / Resolution on Legislative Regulation
The Resolution was adopted in National Assembly and it represents political commitment of each government to respect general principles of better regulation when preparing and adopting legislation and policies.
2009 / Handbook on impact assessment
It is a manual for public officials training in how to do impact assessment on economy, social environment and environment, and a helpful tool Handbook will be upgraded with lessons learned from the ministries
2009 / The programme of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for eliminating administrative barriers, and reducing administrative burdens by 25% by 2012
With the decision of 7 May 2009 Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted Programme for Administrative Barriers Elimination (41 measures), Action Programme for Reduction of Administrative Burdens by 25% till 2012 and Methodology for Administrative Costs Measurement as a uniform tool to implement the Action programme (SCM).The Programme consists of two parts, first being 41 “fast track measures” while second part represents a systematic approach to reduce administrative burden reduction by 25% till 2012.
2009 / Action Programme for Reduction of Administrative Burdens by 25% till 2012
The Action Programme consists of five phases:
Phase1: Review of legislation of the relevant area
Phase2: Measurement of administrative costs in accordance with the common methodology (SCM)
Phase3: Collecting substantive proposals for reducing administrative burdens
Phase4: Implementing procedure of the amendment of statutory provisions and implementing regulations based on received proposals for reducing administrative burdens
Phase5: Re-measurement of administrative costs and determination of efficiency of amendments to realise the Action Plan objective
2010 / Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and Amendments to the Instructions on the implementation of the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the Government of Slovenia No.10
The amendments of the Rules of Procedure were adopted on 8.4.2010 and applied on 4.5.2010. These amendments follow the provisions of the Resolution on legislative regulation on impact assessment and public consultation. Further provisions on implementation (Instructions No.10) were adopted on 26.5.2010 and applied on 4.6.2010. The Instructions hold provisions on the composition of the accompanying letter to the proposal and further process.
2010 / IT support of legislative procedure
The IT support was put in place on 1.4.2010. It supports the legislative procedure from an early draft (even an idea) throughout the process within the ministries, inter-ministerial coordination till submitting to the government session. The entire process of preparing a piece of legislation is traceable on the portal e-democracy and accessible over worldwide web.
2010 / The implementation of the Action Programme for Reduction of Administrative Burdens by 25% till 2012 (2nd phase)
Within the framework of the programme’s second phase there were conducted measurements of 3.529 acts; of which administrative burden’s costs added up to 1,5 billion EUR.
Analysis revealed that actions should focus on the area of environment and spatial planning, labour legislation, cohesion issues, financial issues (tax and taxes) and corporate legislation.
2010 / PSC (EKT) – Point of Single Contact for foreign and domestic business entities
The Government adopted the action plan for “Business Portal PSC set-up – Point of Single Contact to support procedures of acquiring licences for exercising regulated activities in RS”. It does not only fulfil the implementation requirements (of Services Directive) but it also represents realization of important national objectives in the field of business environment simplification. The establishment of PSC will contribute to reduce administrative burden in the area of acquiring various licences, to accelerate re-hiring unemployed, to reduce grey economy and to re-establish competitive market on national as well as on the EU level.
The project is conducted in two stages: EKT 1 consists of application’s development and setting up of the portal and a preparation of a catalogue of requirements and procedures; EKT 2 consists of setting up the IT support for acquiring licences from abroad. During those tasks a thorough review and changes of legislation are being conducted.
2010 / The membership appointments of project council and project groups EKT1 and EKT2 to conduct the project “Business Portal PSC set-up – Point of Single Contact to support procedures of acquiring licences for exercising regulated activities in RS”
In order to exercise the activities more efficiently a project council and project groups EKT1 and EKT2.
2011 / The implementation of the Action Programme for Reduction of Administrative Burdens by 25% till 2012
Phase1: checking legislation (laws and regulations) and preparing for measurement – implemented in Nov 2009
Phase2: conducting measurements of costs according to uniform methodology - implemented in Mar 2011
Phase3: submitting suggestions for simplification and burden reduction (by ministries) – implemented June 2011
In order to accomplish our goal
2011 / The establishment of minus 25% Portal
To support the implementation of “minus 25% till 2012” programme the ministry of has set up a portal “minus 25%” enabling the interested public, entrepreneurs and enterprises to follow the programme and also submit proposals to the relevant ministry. It consists of web-site, national database of national legislation measurements and comments-managing system. Its goal is to inform the public of the achievements of the programme; to provide the public with a results of measurements (act by act), good practices (national and EU), to inspire the users of the portal to submit their own ideas and proposals.
2012 / Report on realization of Resolution on Legislative Regulation 2011
Report (only in Slovene) is accessible at:
http://www.mpju.gov.si/fileadmin/mpju.gov.si/pageuploads/Upravni_procesi/Porocilo_VRS_BR_minus25_OAO_2011.pdf
2012 /
Report on realization of “Business Portal PSC set-up” project activities
See website: http://www.mpju.gov.si/fileadmin/mpju.gov.si/pageuploads/Upravni_procesi/porocilo_ekt-maj2012.doc.2012 /
New State Portal EUGO Slovenia - Slovenia Business Point
In June 2012 a new state portal EUGO Slovenia - Slovenia Business Point was test-published: www.eugo.gov.si. The portal provides foreign and domestic services providers wholesome information on business's life-cycle in one place in a transparent and user-friendly way.
The core of the portal is a display of information on regulated activities and professions in RS.The project is part of the Operative human resources development programme 2007-2012; development priroty: Institutional and administrative qualifications, priority aim 5.1.: Efficient and effective public administration
2012 / Renovated Action Programme for Reduction of Administrative Obstacles and Legislative Burdens 2012 and 2013
In collaboration with other ministries and government offices the ministry prepared a renovated version of the programme. The “new” programme next to the unrealized measures of 2011 contains as well the measures stemming from the Agreement for Slovenia 2012 – 2015.
The renovated programme combines all together 271 measures; 137 unrealized from 2011 and 134 additional measures, prioritized according to the area.
The reports on realization of the programme will be duly published on the web-site portal: www.minus25.gov.si
2012 / IT support of legislative procedure
IT support of legislative procedure project (IPP) was awarded a Second Place Winner of the UN Public Service Awards in the category of Fostering participation in policy-making decisions through innovative mechanisms.
2012 / The membership appointments of inter-ministerial working group for legislative renewal of regulated activities and professions
The working group will be examining regulation and bring forward proposals for a legislation renewal.
2012 / New membership appointments of project council and project groups EKT1 and EKT2 to conduct the project “Business Portal PSC set-up – Point of Single Contact to support procedures of acquiring licences for exercising regulated activities in RS”
In August 2012 new members were appointed.
2012 / New membership appointments of the Permanent inter-ministerial working group for better regulation and reduction of administrative burdens
In September new members of working group will be appointed. The members will act as »agents« at the relevant areas in thei line ministries.
annually / Programme of Bills
All ministries prepare annual plan of regulatory activities with explanations and time frames of adoptions.
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