European Economic
and Social Committee
Slovenia
National Strategy / Action Plan
There is no National Strategy / Action Plan in Slovenia
CSO platform(s)
Lead Government Body
national ESC(s)
SD council or equivalent
There is no SD council or equivalent in Slovenia
Performance
There is no Performance in Slovenia
Summary
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are directly integrated into the Slovene Development Strategy for 2030, which was adopted in December 2018.
- The National Economic and Social Council (ESC) was consulted pro forma during the adoption of the 2030 strategy, but extensive and consistent engagement with civil society was achieved through public consultations, online surveys, interactive workshops, ad hoc working groups, and informal meetings.
- The National ESC is supposed to review SDG progress yearly.
Description of the initiative
Actors
Actors
Lead government body
Supporting government bodies
National Economic and Social Council
Sustainable Development Council
Slovenia does not have an SD Council
Lead government body link
Supporting government bodies link
SD council text
Slovenia does not have an SD Council
nESC link
Institutional framework
Institutional framework
Lead and supporting government bodies
Sustainable development is constitutionally enshrined.
The Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy is in charge of the overall coordination of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
It is supported by the permanent Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Development Policies, which meets on a monthly basis and promotes policy coherence by sharing information and solving policy conflicts.
There was little progress in formulating or implementing SD policy from 2008 until 2015 due to short-term crisis pressures. The incumbent government made strategic policy a priority and has successfully adopted strategic documents with a 2050 and 2030 timeline that integrate Agenda 2030. Civil society and individual citizens were consistently engaged in the drafting process.
Strategic framework
Vision Slovenia 2050 was adopted in December 2016 and focuses on 5 themes: lifelong learning, innovative society, trust, quality of life & identity.
The Slovene Development Strategy for 2030 was adopted by the government in December 2017, using the Vision for 2050 as a basis. This strategy's overarching goal is a high quality of life for all, which is meant to be achieved by focusing on 5 headline priorities (aligned with Vision 2050) that are mapped across 12 goals. The planned outcomes are:
- an inclusive, healthy, safe and responsible society
- learning for and throughout life
- high value-added businesses creating profits for all
- a healthy and conserved natural environment
- a high-level cooperation, competence and effective administration
To implement the goals a four-year national development policy programme (NDPP) and a medium-term fiscal strategy will be drawn up, according to the Slovene Development Strategy for 2030.
Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
The SDGs are directly integrated into the 2030 strategy, which maps the 12 national goals across to the headline priorities and individual SDGs.
The government relied heavily on OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) expertise, especially its Pilot Study on Measuring Distances to the SDGs targets, in drafting the 2030 strategy.
The permanent Working Group functions as a coordination mechanism specifically designed to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, resulting in individual ministries internalising SDGs.
The adoption of a long-term vision and medium-term strategy, both aligned with the United Nations sustainable development agenda, were a government priority. With those documents in place, the incumbent government lists the development of an action plan for the implementation of the Strategy & Vision as a clear next step in Slovenia's strategic planning policy.
A report on the national implementation of the Agenda 2030 was published in 2018.
Role of civil society
Role of civil society
Civil society platform link
Involvement in implementation of Sustainable Development Goals
- Civil society was engaged extensively in the drafting process of both Vision 2050 and the Slovene Development Strategy 2030;
- In August-September 2015 the governmental coordinating working group organized 27 events, lasting over a 100 hours, in which 611 citizens participated to discuss what the shared future Vision 2050 should aim towards;
- A conference entitled "The future isn't far" was organised November 2015 with 50+ representatives from among social partners, academia and wider stakeholders;
- Five interactive events with 363 participants were held in March 2016 to support a first draft of the strategic orientations for Vision 2050, while other meetings were co-organised with Civil Society Organisations simultaneously;
- 1010 citizens were surveyed about quality of life in Slovenia in June 2016;
- 9 consultations with 208 experts were held in June 2017 to discuss and set out strategic guidelines for the 2030 development strategy;
- The draft 2030 strategy was submitted for public consultation in October 2017, to which 53 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and subject matter experts responded;
- The strategic planning working group also held meetings with all relevant social partners throughout 2017 in order to receive feedback on the 2030 strategy;
- There appear to be no formal mechanisms in place to ensure stakeholder engagement beyond the yearly report to be reviewed by the nESC;
- Overall CSO engages itself in reviewing policy by participating in parliamentary consultations, meetings with policymakers and public advocacy.
Civil society platform for 2030
Umanotera, The Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development” has developed several initiatives, Amongst them "Plan B for Slovenia" in 2009 with the Association for Alpine Protection, BirdLife Slovenija, Association for Natural Development and the Institute for Sustainable Development in addition to another 31 Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Plan B publishes a call for sustainable development to coincide with parliamentary elections, has formulated an advocacy guide for legislative activism and was involved in the drafting process of the strategic documents for 2030 & 2050.
UN Global Compact Slovenia also functions as a business network promoting sustainable development, with 33 members including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. The association focuses its activities on a yearly 'ethical business' conference and adoption of fair business guidelines.
National Economic & Social Councils
National Economic & Social Council
Legal mandate
The founding act of the nESC (national Economic and Social Council) is sufficiently vague to encompass sustainable development. In practice the nESC reviews all legislative and regulatory initiatives pertaining to social and economic policy, which includes horizontal strategies.
Organisation
The trilateral composition of the nESC shows the equal representation of the three partners, namely representatives of employees, employers and the government. Each of the partners appoints its representatives to the nESC. Each partner has a maximum of 8 members. Each member may have a deputy. The rights and powers of the deputies are equal to the rights of its members.
Representatives of employees shall be nominated by representative federations and trade union confederations for the territory of the state, each representative association or confederation of at least one member, and representatives of employers by associations of employers and chambers operating in the territory of the country.
The composition of the representatives of each partner must ensure the representation of the interests of each partner who participates in tripartite social dialogue.
Tasks
The nESC is supposed to review an implementation report yearly
The nESC does not fulfil clear tasks in relation to Agenda 2030
Activities
The nESC adopted a motion at its 307th session on November 2017 that acknowledged the 2030 strategy and commits the nESC to monitoring progress yearly by reviewing the yearly 'Development Report'
The nESC does not organise events and does not publish any reports.
Monitoring & Evaluation
Monitoring & Evaluation
Performance
UN SDSN SDG Index Country Profile
Slovenia ranks 12th in the SDG global ranking of 2019.
Indicators
National indicators of sustainable development have been developed as part of the 2030 strategy drafting process. These are aligned with the SDGs and are meant to ensure comparability with other EU / OECD member states.
The Agency for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development publishes a 'Development Report' yearly to review progress in fulfilling strategic commitments and implementing action plans.
Civil society was engaged in developing monitoring processes through an "indicator workshop" held in September 2016 in support of the draft 2030 strategy.
600 experts were also invited to submit an online survey regarding the synergies between strategies, goals and indicators, which was then analysed using the DELPHI method and incorporated in an updated draft.
Voluntary National Report
Slovene government opted to participate in the 2017 Voluntary National Review process as early as possible to raise awareness among stakeholders and foster cooperation.
The integrated approach consciously adopted by the coordinating body, as outlined above, was specifically designed to ensure functional coordination mechanisms with civil society.
The review also included contributions from representatives of youth, civil society, and the private sector.
Slovenia's VNR can be accessed here.