Slovenia Wants Status of Two Cohesion Regions
Slovenia is to seek to be granted the status of two cohesion regions in talks with the European Commission
The government adopted a proposal to see Slovenia classified as two cohesion regions in the EU so that the country can continue to be a recipient of core development aid. The proposal envisages classification into two regions, east and west. The east region would include the statistical regions of Pomursko, Podravsko, Korosko, Savinjsko, Southeastern Slovenia, Zasavsko, Spodnjesavsko and Notranjsko-Krasko, with Maribor as its centre.
The western, the more developed cohesion region, is to be centred in Ljubljana, while it would include the statistical regions of Gorenjsko, Gorisko, Obalno-Krasko and central Slovenia.
The government adopted the proposal a few days after the act on balanced regional development took effect, giving the government the power to decide on the number of cohesion regions for Slovenia.
Currently, Slovenia is classified as one cohesion region. As a result of this status and its growing GDP, it could lose a bulk of EU development aid if the bloc fails to reach agreement on the 2007-2013 spending plan by the end of the year.
The government would therefore like to secure reclassification as two regions, so that the less developed of the two regions may continue to remain entitled to Level 1 development aid.
The proposal for reclassification is only a step in the process to obtaining new status, as Slovenia would still have to enter talks with the European Commission.
For the new status to take effect as of 2007, a deal between Slovenia and the EU would have to be reached before the end of 2005.
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