Guenter Verheugen, the European commissioner for enterprise and industry, has expressed satisfaction with Slovenia's reform programme after talks with Development Minister Joze P. Damijan. "I am very pleased with the information I got, the country is on track," he said in Brussels on Thursday.
"Even though we have not been ranking the member states by their success, Slovenia is as always very high on my personal rankings," said Verheugen, who did not wish to comment on the individual reform measures.
He therefore refrained from commenting on the proposed flat tax, saying that this was a decision Slovenia has to take by itself. "The Commission does not have jurisdiction over tax rates," he added.
However, he advised Slovenia to conduct an in-depth study of what other member states have done, what their experience is and how they could be implemented in Slovenia. "Yet, every country is free to chose its tax system."
Verheugen said Damijan also presented the government's privatisation plans, but said it was not his duty to comment on it. "It is my understanding that Slovenia has an ambitions privatisation plan and it would be of no use if I either criticised it or gave advice."
Minister Damijan meanwhile explained that he presented to Verheugen all plans associated with the economic and social reforms, which are aimed at increasing employment, competitiveness and economic growth.
According to him, Verheugen "praised the ambitious plans and said that the climate regarding Lisbon objectives is changing, the member states becoming more ambitious."
The pair discussed other topical issues in the light of the upcoming economic summit of the EU next week. "I have asked Slovenia to back the Commission's positions, we talked about the services directive, competition and protectionism, R&D, education issues," Verheugen said.
Touching on education, Damijan said the Slovenian government was making efforts to deregulate universities to allow the establishment of new higher-education institutions that would be region-specific with respect to the needs of the local economy.
He said efforts were also being made to improve the accessibility of university studies, whereby increasing the number of higher-education institutions would improve quality and make students more employable. "Knowledge is the only factor enabling long-term economic growth," he said.
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