UNDP | Virtual Resource Centre - Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment

Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment in Slovenia

Legal background

The requirement to perform ex-ante impact assessment in policy making was introduced in the country in 2004 through the Act on Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in EU affairs. The act established the obligation to carry out the assessment of the impact of new regulations on the economy, public administration and environment. The legal framework of Impact Assessment was then formulated in Slovenia’s Development Strategy in June 2005 and in the Program for the Reduction of Administrative Burden. The same year, the Government adopted the Government Decisions on administrative burdens.

The Programme of Measures for Reduction of Administrative Burdens aims to reduce administrative barriers and ensure that public administration is friendly, effective, open and transparent. There is also commitment for the rapid development of e-government. All the ministries are preparing work plans for the 2007-2008 period to reduce administrative burdens.

All primary legislation must be accompanied by a covering letter which includes:

Data referring to identification and procedure for the consideration of the government document.
Government decision proposal. If amendments to an implementing regulation are proposed, the document shall include a proposal for the adoption of government decision on determining the consolidated text.
Assurance of the proposer that the impact assessment of proposed government decisions was carried out and that required inter-ministerial coordination and consultation with the representatives of civil society was held; the impact assessment shall be carried out in the area of public finance, compliance with the acquis, removal of administrative barriers, as well as in the area of public administration, judiciary, economy, environment and social situation of individuals. The proposer shall be accountable for the accuracy of the part of the assurance under their competence.
The explanation of proposed decisions, including the explanation of effects of the proposed measures and other data required for the quality decision-making of the government, which shall be set by the Government Secretary General.
All elements prescribed by the National Assembly of Slovenia Rules of Procedure if the draft is submitted to the National Assembly.

The Secretariat General issued an instruction including in Annex a form which is to be filled in by officials when drafting regulations and refers to all the elements of the explanatory report that needs to accompany a draft text according to the Rules of Procedure.

Environmental Impact Assessment standards are harmonized with the requirements of the European Union through the Environmental impact assessment and environmental protection consent under the Environmental Protection Act (ZVO-1) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 4 Impact assessments fall under the competency of the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (ARSO) as a body within the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. Activities that require mandatory environmental impact assessment are listed by law and the ARSO is the key decision making body to accept the impact assessment. When an activity affecting the environment is likely to cause transborder impacts, the ARSO must ensure that, when issuing environmental protection consents, the domestic public, as well as EU Member States, other countries that are parties to the relevant convention and their publics, are involved in the environmental impact assessment procedure.

Institutional background

The Ministry of Public Administration is responsible for the agenda of regulatory impact assessment in the country. The ministry prepared the Methodology for Implementation and Supervising of Statement on Reduction of Administrative Burdens and Participation of Interested parties, so even if the key focus of impact assessment is on fiscal matters, the public participation component has already appeared. Generally there is wide awareness in the country about the importance of consultations in policy making. There is no central coordinating body regarding policy impact assessment, it is up to the line ministries to decide whether to carry out impact assessment or not; unless the national Assembly specifically asks for it.

An explanatory memoranda is compulsory to accompany all new regulations, however only impacts on the state budget and public finances are required to be demonstrated and in addition the list of consulted bodies and the summary of their opinions.

Relevant areas of IA

Focus is mainly on fiscal impact assessment.

Special focus on environmental impact assessment.

Related activities

Content to be uploaded

Existing guidelines

The ministry of Economy prepared guidelines for the preparation of the material for regulatory impact assessment. This guide serves as basis of the draft governmental act on impact assessment.

Documents, links

Content to be uploaded

Latest News in the Regional Project on Ex-ante Impact Assessment

PIA Mapping available in Serbian

July 2008 Download (2mb)

First regional training on PIA
June 2008 More

Introductory PIA training course in Serbia
5 June 2008 Read

PIA Mapping available in Russian
April 2008 Read

Mapping of Ex-ante PIA Tools and Experiences in Europe published
March 2008 More

Steering Committee meeting in Budapest
29 February 2008 Read

Mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment Experiences and Tools in Europe
October 2007 Read

Introduction to Impact Assessment training for policy units in Moldova
June 2007, Chisinau Read

Menu Home Library PIA Process and Best Practices UNDP regional project on Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment Country Overviews Contacts Partners Links World Bank OECD European Union Oslo Governance Centre UNDP Europe & CIS Democratic Governance practice SIGMA - Support for Improvement in Governance and Management	Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment in Slovenia Legal background The requirement to perform ex-ante impact assessment in policy making was introduced in the country in 2004 through the Act on Cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government in EU affairs. The act established the obligation to carry out the assessment of the impact of new regulations on the economy, public administration and environment. The legal framework of Impact Assessment was then formulated in Slovenia’s Development Strategy in June 2005 and in the Program for the Reduction of Administrative Burden. The same year, the Government adopted the Government Decisions on administrative burdens. The Programme of Measures for Reduction of Administrative Burdens aims to reduce administrative barriers and ensure that public administration is friendly, effective, open and transparent. There is also commitment for the rapid development of e-government. All the ministries are preparing work plans for the 2007-2008 period to reduce administrative burdens. All primary legislation must be accompanied by a covering letter which includes: Data referring to identification and procedure for the consideration of the government document. Government decision proposal. If amendments to an implementing regulation are proposed, the document shall include a proposal for the adoption of government decision on determining the consolidated text. Assurance of the proposer that the impact assessment of proposed government decisions was carried out and that required inter-ministerial coordination and consultation with the representatives of civil society was held; the impact assessment shall be carried out in the area of public finance, compliance with the acquis, removal of administrative barriers, as well as in the area of public administration, judiciary, economy, environment and social situation of individuals. The proposer shall be accountable for the accuracy of the part of the assurance under their competence. The explanation of proposed decisions, including the explanation of effects of the proposed measures and other data required for the quality decision-making of the government, which shall be set by the Government Secretary General. All elements prescribed by the National Assembly of Slovenia Rules of Procedure if the draft is submitted to the National Assembly. The Secretariat General issued an instruction including in Annex a form which is to be filled in by officials when drafting regulations and refers to all the elements of the explanatory report that needs to accompany a draft text according to the Rules of Procedure. Environmental Impact Assessment standards are harmonized with the requirements of the European Union through the Environmental impact assessment and environmental protection consent under the Environmental Protection Act (ZVO-1) (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 4 Impact assessments fall under the competency of the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia (ARSO) as a body within the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. Activities that require mandatory environmental impact assessment are listed by law and the ARSO is the key decision making body to accept the impact assessment. When an activity affecting the environment is likely to cause transborder impacts, the ARSO must ensure that, when issuing environmental protection consents, the domestic public, as well as EU Member States, other countries that are parties to the relevant convention and their publics, are involved in the environmental impact assessment procedure. Institutional background The Ministry of Public Administration is responsible for the agenda of regulatory impact assessment in the country. The ministry prepared the Methodology for Implementation and Supervising of Statement on Reduction of Administrative Burdens and Participation of Interested parties, so even if the key focus of impact assessment is on fiscal matters, the public participation component has already appeared. Generally there is wide awareness in the country about the importance of consultations in policy making. There is no central coordinating body regarding policy impact assessment, it is up to the line ministries to decide whether to carry out impact assessment or not; unless the national Assembly specifically asks for it. An explanatory memoranda is compulsory to accompany all new regulations, however only impacts on the state budget and public finances are required to be demonstrated and in addition the list of consulted bodies and the summary of their opinions. Relevant areas of IA Focus is mainly on fiscal impact assessment. Special focus on environmental impact assessment. Related activities Content to be uploaded Existing guidelines The ministry of Economy prepared guidelines for the preparation of the material for regulatory impact assessment. This guide serves as basis of the draft governmental act on impact assessment. Documents, links Content to be uploaded	Latest News in the Regional Project on Ex-ante Impact Assessment PIA Mapping available in Serbian July 2008 Download (2mb) First regional training on PIA June 2008 More The first regional training on Cross-cutting ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment issues, with special focus on poverty reduction and ensuring equal opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized groups, will take place on 23-27 June 2008 in Budapest. Introductory PIA training course in Serbia 5 June 2008 Read Introductory training on Ex-ante Impact Assessment has been organized for civil servants, civil society representatives and UNDP staff in Serbia. The training was delivered by Ms. Katarina Staronova, international expert on policy impact assessment; consultant in the regional PIA project. Participants were satisfied with the contents of the training, however, they expressed a wish of having more hours (days) of training on impact assessment and related issues (e.g. instruments). Training was organized in 3 main thematic blocks: 1) introduction to IA framework and concepts within the policy development model 2) analysis of a real case study on impact assessments conducted in UK, where key elements of IA were analysed in relation to recommendation from the European Union (Mendelkern Report) and conditions of Serbia 3) procedural issues on conducting impact assessment europeandcis.undp.org/home/show/6F7D1871-F203-1EE9-B8ED175A1E1D8F62 The training provided a unique opportunity for the start up of a network among UNDP Serbia employees, civil servants responsible for IA introduction in the country and this network should be further developed and followed up. PIA Mapping available in Russian April 2008 Read Данное руководство содержит описание методики и практического опыта проведения предварительной оценки влияния (ОВ) с обращением особого внимания на уменьшение бедности и обеспечение равных возможностей для уязвимых и изолированных групп. Руководство основывется на региональном опыте, накопленном в результате оценки систем ОВ и оценки нужд в обучении, проведённых в четырёх странах (Сербия, Хорватия, Босния и Герцеговина, Молдова), а также на уроках, извлечённых из реального осуществления проектов ОВ в разных странах. Публикация ставит своей целью обеспечить практиков доступными методами и передовым опытом проведения предварительной оценки влияния в Европе и СНГ и, таким образом, посредством улучшенного процесса принятия решений повлиять на уменьшение уровня бедности. Целью руководства также является поддержка развития местного потенциала в области стандартов ЕС. Click for document Mapping of Ex-ante PIA Tools and Experiences in Europe published March 2008 More Designing and Delivering UNDP’s 1st Regional Training on Cross-Cutting Issues of Ex-ante Policy Impact Assessment. Information International Consultant - Quality assurance of the 1st Regional Training on Ex-ante Impact Assessment. Information Steering Committee meeting in Budapest 29 February 2008 Read After discussing the results of the project’s first year and reporting on the status of national projects the Steering Committee accepted the work-plan of the project for 2008. Regarding substantive activities, the following targets have been set: 1. 1st Regional training on cross-cutting issues of IA - June 2008 (estimated time) 2. 2nd regional training – late Autumn (tentative) 3. Supporting CO projects throughout the year 4. Pilot Impact Assessments – based on the needs of the participating countries 5. Build up and roll out the Virtual Resource Centre – including an interactive workspace linked to regional trainings Regarding operational matters, the following has been agreed: 1. Virtual meetings of the Steering Committee will be held throughout the year 2. Regular updates from BRC – every two months – will be sent 3. Searching for more entry points at the CO level besides the one focal project 4. Setting key deadlines Mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment Experiences and Tools in Europe October 2007 Read A team of two international consultants with the support of national consultants have completed the mapping of ex-ante Impact Assessment experiences and tools in Europe, with special focus on the relevant practices applied in the four participating countries. A Training Needs Assessment has been also carried out in each of the countries. Planning of future regional training has been initiated and a virtual resource centre is being developed. Introduction to Impact Assessment training for policy units in Moldova June 2007, Chisinau Read Introductory training for the newly established policy units in line ministries has been organized in Moldova on June 19, 2007. The UNDP Moldova Country Office approached UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre with the request for support for this introductory training within the framework of the regional project. Ms. Katarina Staronova, an international consultant, has been sent to Chisinau to provide the training. The training was organized in 4 main thematic blocks: 1) Introduction to IA concepts and theories 2) Analysis of real case studies of impact assessments conducted in the UK, where key elements of IA were analyzed in relation to recommendation from the European Union (Mendelkern Report) and conditions of Moldova 3) IA in broader context of policy making processes and management (consultation process, quality assurance, compliance problems, monitoring, etc.) 4) Brainstorming on the mandate of the policy units (coordination horizontal and vertical, vis-à-vis Ministry of Economy, vis-à-vis substantive departments, role in the process of IA, etc.) The participants were satisfied with the contents of the training, and expressed a wish to have more hours (days) of training on impact assessment and related issues (e.g. instruments).
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