Minister Dr Monika Kirbiš Rojs meets with the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia representatives to discuss funding and decentralisation

SLOVENIA, July 8 - Representing the Ministry at the meeting, in addition to the Minister, were State Secretary Ivan Meglič, Head of Minister’s Office Lea Furlan, Acting Director-General of the Cohesion Policy Directorate Matjaž Dragar, and Deputy Director-General of the Regional Development Directorate Marko Drofenik.

The participants discussed key issues related to local self-government, systemic financing of municipalities, regional development, regionalisation, more effective EU funds use and the simplification of services for citizens.

President of the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia, Nejc Smole, emphasised the need to reestablish an operational working group on local self-government to enable faster and more effective coordination between the state and municipalities. The Minister supported the initiative, noting: “We are a ministry for municipalities.” She added that the Ministry aims to serve as a strong partner to municipalities and that everything that the state, municipalities and regions successfully coordinate today will contribute to Slovenia’s more successful long-term development.

They paid particular attention to the systemic sustainability of municipal financing. The representatives of the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia pointed out, among other things, that the new municipal development coefficient does not always reflect the actual situation on the ground. Deputy Director-General Marko Drofenik underlined the need to appropriately revise the development coefficient and improve the methodology for calculating the average per capita allocation, noting that the impact of inflation on municipal costs should also be considered more consistently.

Another important topic of discussion was the establishment of self-governing provinces. The participants agreed that future solutions should be developed in close cooperation with regional and local communities, and that self-governing provinces represent an important factor in achieving more balanced regional development in Slovenia.

Regarding Cohesion Policy, the Minister stressed that the top priority is to accelerate EU funds absorption so that Slovenia does not lose any available funding. The Ministry has therefore already conducted a review of project implementation in collaboration with other ministries and is preparing measures to speed up their completion. She advocated for greater digitisation and simplification of procedures, following the European Commission’s example of centralised calls for proposals, as well as for greater flexibility in the management of EU funds. In this context, she also emphasised the importance of placing greater trust in local communities and regions: “The system is quite centralised at the national level. Personally, I would like to see, after so many years, greater trust placed in local communities and regions, and for at least a portion of the funds transferred to the regional level for more autonomous management.”

The Minister expressed her support for extending the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) mechanism to municipalities not having the status of an urban municipality but having an administrative unit. The participants also supported establishing local “one-stop shops” that would allow citizens to access multiple public services in one place. They see such a model significantly contributing to the accessibility of services, particularly in rural areas and smaller towns.

An initiative to strengthen the representation of Slovenian local communities in Brussels by expanding the regional office was also highlighted, as this would enable municipalities to participate even more effectively in European processes and obtain information on development opportunities in due time.

The meeting concluded with a commitment that the Ministry and the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia will continue to work closely to develop solutions for stronger local self-government, more effective EU funds use and more balanced regional development.